In listing 32 wild animal species as farm animals under the Animal Improvement Act in 2019, the Department of Agriculture went against the recommendations of the government’s own scientific authority. The scientific report on wildlife breeding was called for by the former Minister of Environmental Affairs (DEFF) and authored by 14 of the country’s top wildlife scientists. […]

By the stroke of a legislative pen, a list of iconic and in some cases endangered wild animals can now be manipulated as farming stock. What happens next is anyone’s guess… writes Don Pinnock. Lions, cheetahs, rhinos and zebras were among 33 wild species which became farm animals as of May this year when the […]

A new facility that rehabilitates wild animals that have been injured or abandoned, with a view to returning them to the wild, has been opened at Shamwari Private Game Reserve, outside Port Elizabeth. At the R5 million (or $350,000) facility, the animals are treated before being released back to the wild, Shamwari said in a […]

A video revealing the horrific practices within South Africa’s captive-bred lion industry has been posted by UK businessman, philanthropist and former Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party, Lord Ashcroft. The industry – known also as “canned lion hunting” – is fuelled often by unknowing local and foreign tourists. After commissioning a year-long investigation, codenamed Operation […]

International actress Pearl Thusi and Humane Society International/Africa are exposing the ugly truth behind the “Snuggle Scam”. South African actress and wildlife advocate Pearl Thusi is collaborating with Humane Society International/Africa to warn residents – and especially travellers to South Africa – not to visit tourist attractions that offer lion cub petting and lion walks. […]

Blood Lions, the explosive documentary that’s attracted global attention since it premiered in 2015, is now available to South Africans worldwide, by subscribing to Showmax. The film blows the lid on what many consider a shameful industry in South Africa, with SA’s own Lion Whisperer Kevin Richardson urging everyone to see the film for themselves. […]

A cheetah has tragically mauled and killed a three-year-old boy this weekend on John Varty’s farm, near Philippolis in the Free State, South Africa. East Coast Radio (ECR) reports that police spokesperson Motantsi Makhele said the boy was attacked by the by the cheetah on Saturday. He was airlifted to hospital in Bloemfontein but sadly […]

OR Tambo International Airport has announced it will remove lion cub petting images from the walls of its international arrivals corridor. These posters, promoting the petting of lions in South Africa, have been up for more than a year and, according to a statement Thursday from OR Tambo, the images were supplied by South African […]

Conservationists have reacted with shock, outrage and bitter disappointment as it was announced in South Africa on Sunday evening that the CITES Committee has approved the ongoing trade in lion bone, setting “quotas” for the selling of bones of captive lions. Consumption of lion bone in Asia has increased over the past few years as […]

Late Friday night (30th October), lion conservationists were left feeling angry and frustrated at the fate of the once mighty and proud African Lion, when news broke that Lions may NOT be listed as a CITES Appendix I Endangered Species (a listing which would further safeguard lions from extinction). To decide the fate of the […]

The absolute joy of a former circus lion touching down on African soil has been captured in a photo at Emoya Big Cats sanctuary in South Africa. A photograph of the first lion to be released, ‘Iron’, was published on social media by Animal Defenders International (ADI) Sunday, with the following message: “Iron enjoys what is clearly a […]

Blood Lions, the explosive documentary that’s attracting a lot of attention since it premiered at the Durban International Film Festival in July, has announced further screenings around the country and in Australia. (See dates below.) Kevin Richardson (aka The Lion Whisperer) urged people to go see the film for themselves. Blood Lions exposes the breeding of […]

The SanWild sanctuary is on the brink of closure unless urgent funding can be secured. As South Africa’s only dedicated rhino and elephant sanctuary under the control of an animal welfare organisation, this closure would be tragic. The sanctuary has provided a protected refuge for injured, orphaned and traumatised wild animals for the past 14 years, where […]