Campaign against lion hunting culminates in Johannesburg

JOHANNESBURG: Hundreds of South Africans demonstrated Saturday against trophy hunting of tame lions as part of an international campaign.
Demonstrators gathered outside a wildlife park where tourists come to see lions outside Johannesburg, displaying placards showing pictures of lion cubs with the text "Bred for the bullet."
Organisers put the number of protesters at 1,000. There were no independent estimates.
The rally followed demonstrations - often in front of South African embassies - in London, Toronto, Sydney, Hyderabad and other cities in Europe and the United States.
South Africa has about 170 lion breeding farms, according to official figures.
Some of them allow tourists to pet lion cubs, which grow accustomed to humans.
Once the cubs are grown, they are often handed over to hunting ranches where tourists shoot them dead in confined spaces, according to the Campaign Against Canned Hunting (CACH).
The lion, which is not afraid of humans, is an easy prey for the hunter who runs no risk for himself. Many ranches charge about US$20,000 for such a "canned" hunt.
The petting industry recruits about 2,500 cubs annually, according to CACH, while the number of lions killed in "canned" hunts is not known.
Canned hunting exists in a legal grey area while cub petting is legal.
A small South African party is taking the matter to parliament, while the main opposition Democratic Alliance is also taking an interest in it, said Linda Park from CACH.
The Lion Park in front of which the demonstration was staged denied that it sells lions for canned hunts. Dozens of people staged a counter-demonstration to defend the park.
Some of them said they worked for the park and feared losing their jobs. – dpa