THURSDAY, 1.30PM:
ENVIRONMENTALISTS are worried that 17 lions being sold by Mpumalanga game owner Roy Plath may be destined for the “canned lion” industry in Mozambique.
“Canned” hunting refers to the practice of confining or drugging lions to make shooting them easier for hunters who do not have the skill, strength or time to track lions on a “proper” hunt. The practice was first exposed a year ago by The Cook Report, a British documentary TV series.
Roy Plath has been accused previously by environmentalists of being involved in the industry. But he says he has written assurances from the lions’ new owners that the lions will not be hunted, and are intended for a breeding project in Mozambique’s Inhambane province.
Environmentalists are worried about losing sight of the animals, and that they may come from an area where tuberculosis is a problem amidst the wildlife.
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