Call for better legislation to protect all big cats in SA

GLOBAL animal welfare organisation Four Paws has urged the government to put better legislation in place to protect big cats in South Africa.

This week marked the deadline for South African public to comment on two important proposed legislation draft documents in the world of wildlife.

The documents released by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) are the Draft Game Meat Strategy and the Draft White Paper on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of South Africa’s Biodiversity.

While Four Paws South Africa is delighted by the government’s initiative in taking the first step to transforming wildlife laws, it believes the documents contradict one another.

“While both significant, they are incredibly different in their positioning and future plans for wildlife protection in South Africa,” said Fiona Miles, director of Four Paws in South Africa.

“The Draft White Paper on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of South Africa’s Biodiversity is a highly progressive document that stands to transform the sector by stating that animal sentience, welfare and well-being, and the intrinsic value of wild animal species, must be reflected in law.

“If these laws and regulations are implemented effectively to reflect the white paper, this would be a fantastic first step that would see South

Africa better animal welfare and move towards reaching international standards.

“On the other hand, the same department has released the Draft Game Meat strategy, which completely contradicts those very same sentiments on animal sentience, well-being, welfare, and intrinsic value.

“Instead, this strategy would seek to vastly expand the wild game meat industry, with potential detrimental ramifications for animal welfare, zoonotic disease transmission, and climate change.”

Miles said should the Draft Game Meat strategy be put into law, it could signal disaster for wildlife in South Africa.

“The Draft Game Meat Strategy aims to formalise the game meat sector and open doors for informal game meat traders. We believe it has the

potential for a number of detrimental ramifications.

“While the White Paper outlines steps that are progressive for conservation and biodiversity in South Africa, the Draft Game Meat Strategy on the other hand advocates for industrial-scale breeding, farming and slaughter of wild animals.”

Miles added that Four Paws had urged the DFFE in their submission to review the Draft Game Meat Strategy.

While unhappy with the Draft Game Meat Strategy, Miles believes that the Draft White Paper could make a significant difference in protecting wildlife, particularly big cats in South Africa.

“The Draft White Paper is a ground-breaking new policy that if implemented has the capacity to revolutionise and reshape conservation and ecologically sustainable use of South Africa’s biodiversity.

“If the Draft White Paper is implemented effectively, we hope that it will begin the process for the phase-out of the captive lion breeding industry. Particularly alongside the establishment of the Lion Task Team, it would

seem the department is taking this very seriously.

“However, we believe there is still more progress to be made. Tigers, which are non-native to South Africa, are bred in captivity for the same commercial purposes as lions. This contravenes international wildlife trade agreements (Cites).

“In addition, other big cats and their parts are heavily traded from South Africa and this feeds the commercial big cat industry in South Africa.”

“For this reason, we are calling for South Africa to end the commercial trade of all big cat species. This would mean including all big cat species (particularly tigers) in the plans to phase out the captive lion breeding industry.”

Miles said that big cats in particular were very exposed in South Africa and were in urgent need of better protection.

“Big cat farming in South Africa, the need for international action report that was released earlier this year about the industry, indicates very concerning trends,” said Miles.

“The Cites Trade Database export data shows that between 2011 to 2020, 1 927 live lions were exported from South Africa, 359 live tigers were exported and 48 live leopards as well as 33 jaguars. All of which were captive-bred individuals. The number is greater for the native species (lions and leopards) when including wild-caught individuals.

“The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment has already taken the commitment to announce in May 2021 that it will phase out the captive lion breeding industry, which supplies cubs for tourism, lions for trophy hunts, and bones – many of which we believe may enter illegal wildlife trade networks.

“However, the Cites Trade Database data clearly indicates that other big cat species are being bred and traded for the same purposes.

“The Minister for the DFFE, Barbara Creecy, said at the time that the captive lion breeding industry did not contribute to conservation and was doing damage to South Africa’s conservation and tourism reputation. She also said that the government will stop issuing permits to breed, keep, hunt, or interact with captive lions and is revoking current breeding permits.

“We would urge the government to address the understanding that other big cat species are suffering the same fate and need to be included in the phase-out and the commercial trade of their live animals and parts ended.”

Miles added that it was estimated that there are about 12 000 captive lions in private facilities throughout the country.

“The minister has appointed a task team to create a voluntary exit strategy for lion breeders.

“Four Paws, however, advised the department in our submission on the draft White Paper that tigers and all big cat species are included in any management plans of cat species going forward.”

Miles said that with big cat species populations now rapidly declining, it was important that countries such as South Africa protect their wildlife.

“All big cat species (lion, tiger, leopard, snow leopard, jaguar) populations in the wild are declining, while their exploited captive populations are increasing.

“The farming, exploitation, and trade in captive animals contribute to the demand for big cats and their parts and puts a price on the head of wild populations.

“Therefore, if we continue to farm, exploit and trade big cats in this way, they may one day only exist in captivity.”

Miles said she hopes the draft White Paper will go a long way in protecting wildlife in South Africa.

“The spirit of the draft White Paper says the well-being of animals involves circumstances and conditions conducive to its physical health and quality of life and acknowledges that animals are capable of suffering.

“This means we need to respect and care for them individually. If this translates into law it means that the management of lions as an iconic species will undergo groundbreaking changes and this can work the end of all commercial breeding, the trade in lion bones and animal parts in hand.

“However, there is still room for progression within the White Paper, for example, ensuring there are no loopholes in the phase-out of the captive lion breeding industry and the inclusion of other big cat species.”