Parliamentarians were this week shown horrendous images of captive lion breeding in South Africa.
Emaciated lions, open wounds, pens covered in faeces, no shelter in blazing sun, cubs on rubbish dumps, lacerated paws — the images displayed on the screen were shocking. But Douglas Wolhuter of the National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA) was on a mission to make parliamentarians understand the cruelty involved in captive breeding.
It was both an impassioned plea to shut down lion breeding facilities and harsh criticism of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) for failing to implement its own recommendations.
“The weight of evidence against the captive breeding industry,” he said, “has called for its closure, deemed irresponsible, inhumane and an unacceptable practice.”
Despite years of commitments, including the Cabinet’s adoption of a phase-out plan in April 2024, Wolhuter said that conditions had barely changed.
