Tag South African LION BONE TRADE

25 Mar

A LOOMING CRISIS – THE CAPTIVE BIG CAT INDUSTRY, COVID_19 AND GOVERNMENT CULPABILITY

Since at least as far back as the late 1990s, various NGOs have warned your department about the harmful and negative effects of breeding lions (and other big cats) in captivity. Yet, the South African government has done nothing to slow the growth of the captive lion breeding industry, nor has it given any indication of wanting to do so. This letter lays bare the facts and calls for immediate action. First, it details the risks embedded in captive lion (and other big cat) breeding and why the industry should be terminated.

CORONA VIRUS – THE EMS FOUNDATION CALLS ON MINISTER CREECY TO END THE LION BONE TRADE

Lion bones are being used as an alternative to tiger bones in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Tiger Bone Wine has been used in TCM for a thousand years or more for the treatment of rheumatism, although there are no known medicinal properties. Over a thousand lions are killed annually in South Africa for this trade. The trade is not regulated and as is explained in our letter to Minister Creecy there are no health and safety regulations in place. This trade is putting the lives at risk of the South Africans employed in this bizarre trade. As has been clearly demonstrated with the SARS virus and now with the new CORONA virus trading in lion bone with unknown medical consequences is irresponsible to say the least.