The South African Predator Breeders’ Association said this week the laws meant breeders could not generate enough money to buy donkeys from villagers and low-grade meat from abattoirs to feed the lions, and might boost hunting of wild lions elsewhere in Africa. SA has up to 300 breeders keeping about 5000 lions worth R5000 to R200000 each.

The local lion industry has grown rapidly over the past decade as it is cheaper for American and European tourists to shoot captive lions released into the wild a few days before they are killed.

Government faces increased lobbying from animal rights organisations to curb the largely unregulated industry.

“They want to close down a viable business,” said Carel van Heerden, association chairman, from Vryburg yesterday.

“An American will pay $60000 for a 21-day safari in Tanzania and is not guaranteed a lion.

“Here for $15000-$25000 he can be guaranteed a lion and we can even send him a photograph of the animal before he travels,” he said.

The closing of the industry would deprive villagers of income as donkeys fetched R200 to R400 apiece, said Van Heerden, whose organisation represents 150 breeders, one of whom keeps 350 of the cats. Farmers’
expenditure that may be lost included the purchasing of farms of between 2000ha and 3000ha.

There are about 2700 wild lions in SA, says National Geographic, and between 28000 and 47000 lions in sub-Saharan Africa, Tigerhomes.org reports.

Animal rights organisations say compensation should be provided so that the lions can live out their lives while the industry winds down.

Will Travers, director of the Born Free Foundation in Sussex, England, said the situation was due to “government inaction, a lack of legislation. The new laws must carry a government responsibility.”

Travers, whose organisation was inspired by the 1964 film about lions, Born Free, said the closing of the industry would not affect lion numbers elsewhere as the number of wild lions that could be hunted every year was set “through scientific quotas”.

The hunting of captive lions, known as “canned hunting”, attracted adverse attention to SA’s hunting industry in 1997 when the BBC’s Cook Report programme showed a lioness being shot next to a fence, on the other side of which were her cubs.