South Africa is the only country in the world to permit large-scale, captive-lion farming and also to permit the export of lion bones, mainly to the Asian market. There are currently an estimated 12,000 captive lions in South Africa, nearly four times the number of wild lions in the country. The vast majority of these lions are killed either for their bones or by trophy hunters, many of whom pay thousands of pounds to shoot the animals in “canned hunts", where the captive-bred lions have no chance of escape. Lion bones, when made into cake, wine and other produce, are (wrongly) thought to have medicinal qualities, including improved virility. The findings from Lord Ashcroft's investigation were published in his book, “Unfair Game: An exposé of South Africa’s captive-bred lion industry", published in June 2020.

Distressing photographic and video evidence of the cruelty inflicted on farmed lions was collected during the undercover operations.
Use the button below to view.