Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) has shown support for Cabinet’s drive towards halting captive lion breeding in South Africa with new provincial legislation designed to phase out captive lion facilities:
- The agency will no longer issue permits to new captive lion facilities.
- The captive breeding of lions will no longer be permitted.
- The importing of lions from other provinces will be phased out.
Simphiwe Shungube, Senior Manager of Corporate Communications for the MTPA, said in a media statement: “The province will maintain rigorous regulatory oversight and strict permitting conditions where wildlife is managed in captive environments while progressively phasing out captive lion facilities in favour of ethical, conservation-led tourism.”
Ian Michler, Director of the documentary Blood Lions, predicts a positive impact on tourism: “The move will certainly improve South Africa’s international reputation. Currently, we are one of the few countries that still sanction the commercial abuse of wild species. In addition, SA Tourism can’t be marketing the country as offering authentic and responsible wildlife experiences with these industries still being sanctioned.”
This is not a policy shift, Michler added. “It’s merely a continuation of a process years back with the high-level panel that voted to close these industries down.” He expects other provinces to follow suit.
