Staff Reporter
A captive lion breeder in the Glen farming area, just outside Bloemfontein, is being sued by the SPCA for animal negligence after 30 lions suffered severe burns following a veld fire and had to be put down to save them from continued pain.
The farmer cannot be named at this stage as the matter is yet to be heard in court.
SPCA Bloemfontein senior inspector Reinet Meyer told The Free Stater by telephone that the owner showed very little care for the lions and they had to take the legal route to access the farm.
“He didn’t seem to be interested in the lions anymore,” said a concerned Meyer.
“Maybe it’s because they are of no value to him since captive lion breeding and the exporting of lion bones is no longer allowed in the country,” she added.
In May this year, the government indicated that it would ban captive lion facilities and the trade in lion bones.
This means the commercial use of captive lions for trophy hunting and the sale of their body parts would be outlawed.
Independent estimates say between 8 000 and 12 000 lions were held in captive facilities in South Africa at the peak of the trade.
Meyer said in an earlier statement they were shocked at the state of the lions when they finally obtained a warrant to enter the premises.
She said five days after the fire, the owner had failed to administer any medical treatment.
“What we found shocked us to the bone,” said Meyer.
“As we entered the lion camps, we could only see the destruction left behind by the torturing flames. We arrived at the lion enclosures and our hearts broke . . .
“We saw that the lions couldn’t escape the blazing fires and the inhalation of smothering fumes were evident. The lions didn’t move. They all laid in one spot with their paws turned upwards. Their fragile bodies were burnt, and their faces carried the devastating scars of the flames (days earlier).”
Meyer said three male lions in one of the camps couldn’t stand at all as they kept collapsing each time they tried to get up.
“The paw pads on the other lions were burned off and they had large blisters underneath the paws,” she said.
“Blood was oozing from the wounds. The lions’ faces were burnt and they couldn’t eat because of blisters in their mouths.
“The lions had severe smoke inhalation damage. The damage was so severe to the lungs that the lions started to drown in their blood. The heat of the fire caused a lion’s eyes to burst.”
The camps, according to Meyer, were in a horrible condition.
There was no electric fence, the structure poles were burnt down and the fence was hanging on a thread with open gaps and holes.
“These lions could have easily escaped, but not even one escaped. They were too broken, too weak,” she said.
“We quickly realised that the owner didn’t care about the lions anymore. He was not willing to invest financially in them and had spent nothing to ensure the welfare of these cats. The owner no longer made provisions for food for the lions.”
“If cattle or any wildlife animal died in the area the farmworkers were sent to collect the meet to feed the lions. They would also get a few dead chickens from a nearby poultry farm.”
Meyer believes the lions went without food for several days.
She said a single cow could hardly feed 59 lions and the three tigers at the farm.
The chickens were hardly enough for just one enclosure.
“These lions were underweight with a very weak and low body score. One could see the rib, pelvic and vertebrae bones,” said Meyer.
“I have never been this angry in my 30 years at the Bloemfontein SPCA . . . misuse of our animals for entertainment like hunting, bone trade, poaching, circus tricks, cub petting or keeping them in zoos or as pets . . . must stop.
“We should leave these animals to be free in the wild without any human contact . . . these lions were captive, and they burned, these lions were never free.”
She said the camps were too small for the lions and were littered with faeces and old carcasses because no one enters the enclosures to clean.
In one incident, three of the lions mutilated and killed their brother within five minutes and ate him because they were and are starving.
The SPCA is now appealing for support so they can look after the remaining lions as well as neglected animals elsewhere.
Well-wishers can deposit funds into:
ABSA Savings Account.
Account name: BFN Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Account number: 927 910 2644
Branch code: 632 005
Reference: Lions
Or they can send an SMS to 42646 with the word Bloemspca (SMS cost R30).
Alternatively, visit www.bloemfonteinspca.co.za and click on the donate button to make an easy payment – reference: Lions.
