Mail on Sunday forces ban on cruel lion farms

The Mail on Sunday was today hailed for exposing the appalling cruelty of South Africa‘s lion farms after the country pledged to outlaw the hunting of big cats in enclosures and end the vile trade of lion bones.

In a stunning victory for former Tory peer Lord Ashcroft and this newspaper, South Africa has announced plans to ban the breeding of captive lions for hunting.

The policy will also end the legal lion bone trade and tourist experiences such as petting cubs, which are destined to be sold to slaughterhouses or shot by hunters when they become too big to be handled. 

The announcement comes two years after a landmark investigation by Lord Ashcroft, published by the MoS, exposed how up to 12,000 lions are held on commercial farms in South Africa as part of a repulsive – but hugely lucrative – industry.

The probe revealed how a British City worker paid thousands to shoot a magnificent lion with tranquilliser darts in an apparent breach of South African law.

It also detailed the astonishing story of how Lord Ashcroft and his team rescued a captive-bred lion named Simba from a ranch and released him into a large enclosure.

Writing in today’s MoS, Lord Ashcroft said South Africa’s crackdown ‘is a triumphant step forward in the march to stamp out this offence to nature’.

Hailing The Mail on Sunday, he added: ‘I know that every word the MoS has published on this matter has given a boost to activist groups in South Africa such as Blood Lions. This is a tribute to the power of newspaper journalism.’

He also renews his call for the British Government to outlaw the importation of lion trophies – and appeals directly to Boris Johnson and his fiancee, Carrie Symonds, who he said are ‘passionate supporters of animal welfare’.

He said the pair, plus Environment Minister Lord Goldsmith, ‘need to use the tools available to them to act in support of South Africa by implementing a British ban as soon as possible. Not to do so would be nothing short of a dereliction of duty’.

South Africa is the only country that allows large-scale lion-breeding, with animals kept in fenced enclosures at 300 farms.

The most impressive males are supplied for so-called canned hunts, where there is little or no chance of escape. The skeletons of dead lions are sold in South East Asia and China, where they are turned into traditional medicines.

Last week Barbara Creecy, South Africa’s environment minister, said the government would adopt the findings of a year-long study by a panel of experts, which recommended banning the breeding and keeping of captive lions for economic gain, including hunting and cub-petting. 

The panel said the industry had a ‘negative impact’ on conservation and eco-tourism. The ban will, however, require parliamentary approval and the regulated hunting of wild lions, which requires hunters to apply for permits, will still be allowed.

The UK government has pledged to ban the importation of hunting trophies but campaign groups and politicians yesterday condemned a proposed exemption for hunters who pay a large sum towards wildlife conservation.