Raising Awareness About Canned Hunting

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15/03/2014 by AndreaUrbanFox

 

A Sport That Is Bringing About Extinction

There is a global effort to raise awareness about a sport that is reducing the global population of many species to the brink of extinction, especially the lions and tigers. Canned hunting or trophy hunting facilities offer their customers the opportunity to kill exotic and native animals trapped within enclosures. Although many hunters and hunting groups are opposed to canned hunting or trophy hunting, there are no international laws prohibiting it. Many people have no idea that these heinous acts are taking place.

Eco-Tourism That Kills

Many unsuspecting tourists and travelers pay top dollar for the opportunity to work with wildlife with an understanding that the animals they come in contact will be cared for and protected. The unfortunate reality is that many of the babies are actually sold to wild game farms where they will be killed by a trophy hunter for sport.

A Father’s Pride

A Father’s Pride by William Payne, paints a very realistic story of how the economic climate can dictate the unconscionable decisions of many people as lions, which are on the verge of extinction are killed. It is an excellent book for young people to read so that they can understand why we need to protect wildlife and have a global ban on canned hunting.

“In the South African town of Anga, William and his father live on a farm that is different to most others. Their farm is a maze of some of Africa’s most iconic wildlife. When a rare lion cub is born on the farm, William and his father cannot believe their luck. However, it is not long before William discovers that the farm holds a terrible secret, and he is forced to try and save everything that he holds dear before it becomes too late.”- A Father’s Pride.

For every book sold, 10% of the profits will go to LionAid.org, which is one of the most amazing lion advocacy organizations in the world that truly fights for the protection of lions. Please click the image of the book to purchase your copy!

A global ban on tiger bone sales has traders hunting a new prize — the majestic lions. Lions are farmed under appalling conditions in South Africa for “canned hunting”, where rich tourists pay thousands to shoot them through fences. Now experts say lion bones from these killing farms are being exported to phony ‘medicine’ makers in Asia for record profits. Trade is exploding and experts fear that as prices rise, even wild lions — with only 20,000 left in Africa — will come under poaching attack.

If we can show President Zuma that this brutal trade is hurting South Africa’s image as a tourist destination, he could ban the trade in lion bones. Avaaz is taking out strong ads in airports, tourism websites and magazines, but we urgently need 1 million petition signers to give the ads their force. Sign the petition by clicking HERE

SOURCE http://www.theorganicview.com/environment/a-fathers-pride-raising-awareness-about-canned-hunting/

It’s twilight in South Africa when a young lion is released from an enclosure that has been his home for most of his life. He is separated from his companions and confused. The man who has fed him since he was separated from his mother — when he was barely able to run — is now scaring him away. Why? He decides he must go and soon he finds himself alone in the bush. The scent of a human he is certain he has never met before is in the air. Who is the stranger? He begins to panic and turns to run when he hears the first clear hiss rip the winter’s air. The arrow pierces his side and he roars in agony. He stumbles forward against the searing pain, before a second and then a third arrow bring him down. He falls. Before he dies, he sees the African sky rage in a thousand shades of fire as the orange sun is swallowed by Earth.

The canned hunting industry in South Africa is one of the cruelest businesses on the planet. South African lion farmers have taken our majestic lion and turned it into living targets for hunters, who think that they have the right to torture and destroy for fun. The agony of an animal shot multiple times with bullets or arrows has to be witnessed to be fully understood.

Hunters call themselves conservationists. To conserve means to preserve — not destroy. And making matters worse, hunters go against natural selection by killing the biggest and the strongest animals, thus weakening the overall population. Is this conservation? I don’t think so.

Wanton cruelty to animals is offensive to compassionate people all around the world. The trophy hunting industry’s whole business model consists of an endless cycle of routine abuse of helpless animals. Cubs are ripped away from their mothers at birth. They are then exploitively used as an attraction to thousands of tourists who pet and have their photograph taken with them. When the lions are too old for that, they eventually are hunted by tourists and suffer an early and violent death. This is not farming or hunting. This is a sick business which must be stopped.

Christine Jordaan, a single mom from Durban, South Africa, conceived the idea of a global march for lions, in order to raise awareness of the ugliness of lion farming in South Africa.

In her plea on behalf of the lions, she writes:

“I like to think that most people have good hearts. We desperately need for these people to stop looking the other way, to unblock their minds to the screams of the animals. The animals cannot vote for a system that is fair to them. They are relying completely and utterly on the compassion and integrity of the human species. If people would still their minds for a second, close their eyes, shut out the deliberate stimulation of the over-consumption culture we have engineered… and imagine the world through the consciousness of the animals… bred to be shot for fun, eaten, worn, for entertainment. Living in pain and misery then dying an agonizing death.

CALL TO ACTION

Write to the S.A. Government to end this industry. All S.A. conservation authorities emails can be found here. http://www.cannedlion.org/global-march.html

Inform tourism agencies in your town why they should only send their clients to ethical locations.
Write to S.A. Embassies/Consulates in your country asking them to end this industry.

Do not engage in cub petting.
Do not engage in lion walking.
Do not volunteer to take care of lion cubs.
Do not volunteer to take care of lion cubs.
Seek celebrity action to raise awareness of the SA canned hunting industry.
Spread the word of what is happening to our wildlife heritage on social media.

SOURCE https://www.thedodo.com/community/cach/global-march-for-lions-to-stop-459398654.html?xrs=RebelMouse_tw

Canned hunt definition – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canned_hunt

GREAT ARTICLE – ‘Canned hunting’: the lions bred for slaughter
Canned hunting is a fast-growing business in South Africa, where thousands of lions are being bred on farms to be shot by wealthy foreign trophy-hunters – READ MORE CLICK HERE

KALAHARI DREAM – All proceeds from the sale of this book go to the Campaign Against Canned Hunting

FOLLOW Chris Mercer on Twitter

• FOR FURTHER INFO, NEWS, AND EVENTS PLEASE CLICK HERE >> Campaign Against Canned Hunting

 

PLEASE SIGN AND SHARE THIS PETITION – Stop the Canned Hunting of Large Cats in South Africa