Thousands of lions are being bred in captivity so they could be shot dead by tourists in Africa, Lord Ashcroft revealed in a new book.
The book revealed the detailing horrors of hunting.
Lord Ashcroft, a businessman, and philanthropist traveled to the continent to investigate how many of the beautiful animals are being killed for the hunts or for the bone trade.
An excerpt from the Unfair Game: An Exposé Of South Africa’s Captive-Bred Lion Industry, revealed that there are now 12,000 captive-bred lions in South Africa.
The numbers are four times the number of wild lions.
During an interview with the Daily Mail, Lord Ashcroft said:
It is no exaggeration to say that the abuse of lions in South Africa has become an industry. Thousands are bred on farms every year; they are torn away from their mothers when they are just days old, used as pawns in the tourist sector and then either killed in a ‘hunt’ or simply slaughtered for their bones and other body parts, which are very valuable in Asia’s so-called medicine market.
Ashcroft explained that in captivity, the lions are poorly fed and are kept in very small and cramped unhygienic living conditions, frequently drugged, and are beaten if they do not perform in front of the tourists.
Lord Ashcroft added:
This sinister system has sprouted up in plain sight in South Africa, inflicting misery on this most noble of beasts on an unimaginable scale. My research suggests it is highly likely that there are now at least 12,000 captive-bred lions in the country, against a wild population of just 3,000. Yet, strikingly, just a small number of people – a few hundred – profit from this abusive set-up. Thanks to South Africa’s constitution and laws, they seem able to operate as they wish.
As part of the investigation that Lord Ashcroft carried out, he commissioned 2 undercover operations, which are:
- Operation Simba
- Operation Chastise
They found evidence that lions were being bred in captivity and were killed with the help of dogs in a very brutal way.
Ashcroft also warned that the bone trade in South Africa is likely to lead to another health crisis, more likely another COVID-19 pandemic.
Lord Ashcroft is campaigning to get captive-bred farming banned in South Africa, with all the proceeds from his new book going to wildlife charities in the country.
He said:
Lion farming shames South Africa, a country that I have loved visiting for many years. It’s time to recognize that it is a cruel and barbaric industry which has no place in the 21st century.
The book Unfair Game: An Exposé Of South Africa’s Captive-Bred Lion Industry came out on June 16, 2020.