Anger over lion bone sales
2009-12-10 10:09
Bloemfontein - Environmentalists are up in arms after a Free State lion farmer was granted a permit to sell lion bones – which are highly sought after as "tiger bones" in traditional Chinese medicine.
The Campaign Against Canned Hunting has warned that all wild lions in Africa are now under threat.
The campaign's Chris Mercer has started a petition against the Free State department of economic development, tourism and environmental affairs, which granted a permit to lion farmer Kobus van der Westhuizen on December 1 allowing him to sell lion bones.
The department responded by stating that this particular permit only allows for the sale of lion bones to Gauteng, and not to China.
No wild lions in Free State
Buti Mathabula, chief director of environmental management, said upon enquiry that wild lions in the Free State are not endangered, since there are no wild lions in the Free State like there are in the Kruger Park.
In the Free State, lions bred in captivity are kept for the purpose of trophy hunting. Bones which aren't used are removed as waste products.
"Lions in the Free State are not of any value to us from an environmental point of view. They're not roaming free in the wild," he said.
"If someone wants to hunt the lions in the Free State, that's fine. We don't want these lions here. We're better off without lions in the Free State. There are problems with fences. If they escape, they kill people."
Mathabula emphasised that the law must be obeyed when lions are hunted. For instance, they must be set free in a large encampment two years prior to such a hunt.
Cites regulations
When permits are granted for exporting animal products abroad, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) regulations have to be adhered to. This is why the sale of lion bones to Gauteng was approved, but not export to China.
Van der Westhuizen, from the game farm Letsatsi la Africa at Vierfontein - whose website is in both English and Chinese - reacted furiously when Volksblad approached him for comment.
"Tell the Greenies to go to hell and go moan somewhere else. I don't know if a permit was granted. I don't know if I applied for a permit."
The Game Rangers Association of Africa has warned that there's a great demand for lion bones, which are exported to the East as "tiger bones". The prices for these vary between R600/kg and R800/kg.
Demand
The demand in Asia has suddenly become so great that "many farmers in the Free State who practiced illegal lion hunting in the past and buried the carcasses are now digging up these carcasses to sell to people in the Far East," according to a warning on the association's website.
Mercer says the Free State is the worst in South Africa when it comes to breeding lions in captivity. Canned lion hunting came about as a result of this. Fringe industries such as a market for lion meat in the US have also developed.
The door to the enormous Asian market for "tiger bones" has now been opened. The demand for wild lion bones is much higher than for lions in captivity.
"We fear the worst for our lion population in Africa. A great amount of money is involved, and we all know what that means," says Mercer.