Wildlife Matters Investigates the clandestine and depraved world of canned hunting and asks what is canned hunting.
The most extreme version of trophy hunting is “Canned Hunting”. Lion Cubs born in captivity are taken away from their mothers within hours of birth to be used in petting zoos. When they come of age, they spend the rest of their life in caged compounds waiting to be released into a larger compound for the so-called ‘canned’ hunt.
This barbaric practice guarantees a kill as the habituated lion has nowhere to go inside the ‘can’ or enclosure where it is shot with a bow and arrow or a rifle. The animals can’t escape from these cages. Occasionally, they are attracted to the bait, but they are sometimes even sedated with medicine.
Anyone can hunt lions in South Africa – a licence or proven hunting experience isn’t necessary. This means that many lions aren’t killed by the first shot, which results in them experiencing an agonising death; this is often the case when hunters choose to kill the lion using a bow and arrow.
For trophy hunting in South Africa, lions are bred in around 200 farms, usually raised by hand and accustomed to humans. Today, about 7000 captive animals are threatened with the same gruesome fate – more than ever before. South Africa has an estimated wild lion population of approximately 2000 lions.
Unwitting tourists visit these farms and pay money to look at or ‘pet’ young lion cubs. However, they are unaware that they are inadvertently supporting a horrific industry that even many hunting associations reject as unethical, which is something that most tourists never learn.
Some farms pretend to be wildlife sanctuaries and offer volunteering opportunities to foreign volunteers. They do this to deceive people into thinking that they are supporting a noble cause—saving the species. This practice is a clear breach of trust.
Shockingly, lions aged between four and seven years, which should be in their prime, are sold as trophies in canned hunts. These hunts are often conducted in unfamiliar locations after the animals are transported from their breeding farms. This is a brutal and inhumane way to end their lives.
It is appalling that some farms offer even the cubs for shooting. Male lions with magnificent manes can cost up to £35,000, while those with dark and thick manes can fetch up to £65,000 or more. These farms smuggle and sell wild lions to ensure breeding genetic diversity.
Online hunting packages are offered at hunting trade fairs and travel agencies. These include expenses for professional hunters, room and board, and animal handlers. These farms breed and offer tigers for hunting, even though they are not indigenous to Africa. Leopards and cheetahs are also common big cat species on these farms.
It is high time we raise awareness of this abhorrent practice and take action to end it once and for all.
Canned hunting is a cruel and abhorrent practice that must be stopped. It is not limited to Africa and big cats, but it is also a thriving business in the US. Many ranch owners breed and hunt African antelopes, lions, and elk in cages. In Virginia, red foxes are chased down by dogs, while in Colorado, elk are born, raised, and then shot by hunters.
It is appalling to note that over a thousand captive hunts exist in at least 28 states in America, with 11 located in Texas and one in Florida. The animals that are most commonly hunted at these ranches are the barasingha, or swamp deer, native to India and Nepal, as well as other endangered species such as Eld’s bow-antlered deer, red lechwe, Arabian oryx, and various antelopes. For a guaranteed kill of a barasingha, one ranch website we found advertised a price of $4,000.
The claims of ranch owners and hunting groups that canned hunting is a form of conservation are baseless. They are just using it as a cover-up for their cruel activities. Captive breeding and hunting are not conservation. It is time to end this hideous activity.
We cannot tolerate such an inhumane and unethical practice that exploits innocent animals for profit. We must impose a complete ban on canned hunting to show our compassion for animals and prevent this barbaric practice from continuing. It is time to can canned hunting, and we must act now to do so.
Nothing less than a complete ban would be acceptable to anyone with compassion for animals.
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 Reading
Canned Hunting and Lion Farming – Born Free Foundation
The Truth About Canned Hunting – BBC Wildlife Magazine
What is Canned Hunting Six Facts that will Shock you! – PETA
w
One Reply to “032 – What is Canned Hunting”