Big cat breeders rattled by ban on captive breeding

South Africa’s phase-out of breeding captive big game and ban on the use of lions for commercial gain have left some big cat breeders worried about their business prospects.

A ministerial task team appointed by former minister of environment, Barbara Creecy, recommended in December 2022 closure of the [lion] breeding sector, but did not provide financial incentives for lion owners once the ban took effect.

The government implemented the recommendations in April, with no deadline for breeding to cease. No changes to the plans have been made since South Africa’s national election in May, which resulted in President Cyril Ramaphosa leading a unity government and the appointment of a new Environment Minister.

South Africa has over 8,000 lions living in captivity, the largest captive lion population in the world, surpassing the country’s wild lion population.

“We need to take responsibility for the animals that are currently in our care….it means that facilities which currently have these animals need to be held accountable for their welfare. In many cases, Four Paws has seen a complete opposite of this”, said Fiona Miles, director of animal welfare organisation Four Paws in South Africa, who have been advocating for the ban.

Willie Jacobs, a game lodge owner and wildlife artificial reproduction researcher, said… his lodge has been involved in crucial artificial reproductive research with local and international universities since 2006, with the aim of understanding wildlife behaviour and increasing its population, and in 2017 the facility produced the first lion cubs through artificial insemination.

“This which the government is bringing upon us, there is no protection against that at all. Everybody’s livelihoods are at risk here,” Jacobs said.

Jacobs’ lodge allows tourists to participate in guided educational walks with lions, which he said helps pay his employees and fund his research facility.

Asini Sanadi, an animal handler who has worked at Jacobs’ lodge for 14 years and is the sole financial provider for his family, said ending big-cat breeding would hurt his livelihood.

The department’s report encouraged breeding facility owners to voluntarily leave the industry by euthanising or sterilising the animals or handing them over to the government to be released into the wild or moved to sanctuaries.