To better understand the current problem of illegal trafficking of lion bones, it is essential to look back at its history. This dates back to May 1993, when China banned the use of tiger bones in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) after facing pressure from the US Clinton administration.
However, the situation remained unchanged until 2005 when TRAFFIC, an NGO working for wildlife trade monitoring, conducted an inspection that revealed the use of African lion bones in “Tiger Wine” in Southeast China’s Xiongsen Wine Company.
The bottles were shaped like a tiger, and the label read “tiger bone wine,” but the contents were lion bones.
The Chinese government conducted an investigation that found only 16 legally obtained lion carcasses were used, and no tiger bones were involved in the production of the wine (Source: Nowell and Ling, 2007).
The ban on using tiger bone in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) caused concern among animal welfare groups that it could have a catastrophic effect on wild African lions in the future.
In 2008, South Africa issued its first export permit for 50 lion skeletons from captive-bred lions destined for Lao. This led to South Africa being scrutinised due to the large number of captive-bred lions held by breeders and the suspicion around the “canned hunting” industry in the country.
Between 2008 and 2011, CITES approved the export of 1,160 skeletons or about 10.8 metric tonnes of lion bones from South Africa. These were obtained from two provinces: North West Free State and Eastern Cape.
South Africa is known for breeding lions on a large scale, and many facilities promote the canned hunting industry, which allows hunters to shoot wild animals in enclosed areas.
The North West Free State province is the epicentre of the captive lion breeding industry and has approximately 3,000 lions in seventy breeding and two hunting facilities.
A tragic journey for these captive-bred lions begins at these “breeding centres that masquerade as rescue centres that allow “cub petting” and “lion walks” as the cubs age. Cubs between six and twelve months of age are then sold to the hunting estates where they are openly advertised as to be shot – with guns or crossbows and bows and arrows – often sedated and within small enclosures – providing a guarantee that the hunter can “bag a real lion.”
This horrific trade has no compassion – once the canned hunter has killed the lion, paid his dollars and gone with his lion’s head, trophy – paws, tail, male genitals and bones are then sold to dealers to be used in TCM. However, the value of a lion’s skeleton is determined by the completeness of the skeletal “set”. The increased value of lion bones led some lion farmers to exhume carcasses disposed of before 2008 to obtain the skulls.
The horrifying trade in lion parts has caused an increase in the price of lion bones, soaring to more than US$500 per kilogram – meaning the lioness has a more significant profit value as “bones” than she does to be killed by so-called canned hunters.
Desperate syndicates, driven by this immense profit, have now resorted to slaughtering entire packs of caged lionesses. Previously, females had little or no value to breeders from hunting, but the massive increase in profits has made the females commercially valuable.
The international community was outraged at the barbaric practices and had hoped to use CITES CoP17 to introduce zero quotas on wild and captive lion bone trade. But instead, South Africa’sAfrica’s compromise document allowed the disdainful practice to continue unhindered. The humanitarian cost is tremendous – lions are being torn from their families and mercilessly killed for the grasp of corporate greed.
What is Tiger Wine?
If you live in the West or Europe, you may have never heard of Tiger Wine. It is a type of traditional Chinese medicine that is based on the principles of holistic healing and the connection between the body and the local environment. The tiger, known for its agility, strength, and energy, is believed to possess healing properties that can be transferred to humans through the consumption of tiger-bone wine.
Tiger-bone wine is made by soaking powdered tiger bones in rice wine for long periods, sometimes up to ten years. The idea behind this practice is that the wine will absorb the nutrients from the bones and pass on the animal’s strength and vitality to the person who drinks it. It is believed to be a powerful stimulant for fatigue and bone-related ailments such as arthritis, rheumatism, and osteoporosis.
However, we must raise some concerns about the consumption of bone-fermented wine and leave it up to you to decide whether the medicinal benefits of tiger wine outweigh the risks.
South Africa exports thousands of these captive-bred lion carcasses every year to Asia and the Middle East and has done so between 2008 and 2016 when South Africa was forced to limit their export quota to 800 lions per annum after a series of scandals, including that of the “Canned Lion Industry”, in which lions were hand-reared from birth, then sold as pets and later shot for their skins.
While this trade is based on captive-bred lions, poachers have capitalized on the opportunity to poach wild lions throughout their range in sub-Saharan Africa. The poachers do use guns but have taken to poisoning water holes and setting snare traps with poisoned bait.
A survey by the African Wildlife Foundation found that 35% of wild lion mortalities were directly linked to lions being killed for their body parts, with retaliatory killings (tribes killing lions who killed their cattle) being the other leading cause of lion fatality. Drug dealers, zoos and ornamental trinkets are just some of the uses for illegal animal products. Researchers found that 48% of lion carcasses had their body parts removed, which clearly shows that the value of lion bone and body parts is a clear motivation for their being killed.
The lion trade in Southern Africa is a cruel and profit-driven industry that disregards the animals’ welfare. It is more inhumane than intensive farming in the West.
It is high time that the international community steps up and puts an end to this barbaric act by outlawing any attempt to remove lions or their body parts from Africa.
The Kings and Queens of the wild animal kingdom are at extreme risk of becoming extinct in the wild during most of our lifetimes, driven by our selfish greed and misplaced belief that consuming an animal body part may cure all of our ills or make us successful in love or business. The stupidity of our generation is explicitly exposed by such practices, and what sort of legacy is that to leave for future generations?
If you enjoyed this blog, please check out more of our wildlife blogs here, or you may prefer to listen to the Wildlife Matters Podcast here.
If you want to support our work
Please click on the Wildlife Matters Patreon Community.
Please click to join the Wildlife Matters Substack Community.
You can donate here.
Further information on Captive lions in Southern Africa
Further information on Lions in Traditional Chinese Medicine
further information on Captive lion breeding and trade