❓What do tourists think about South Africa’s captive lion industry❓
The results are clear:
❗ 70% of international respondents (UK, USA, Germany, Netherlands) say they would be put off visiting a country that allows lion farming to continue.
#WildOverCaptive #CancelCaptivity
❓Why did Blood Lions & World Animal Protection commission a tourism poll?
To understand how travellers feel about SA’s lion farming—and if reversing the planned phase-out would affect travel choices.
Stay tuned as we share #WildOverCaptive results. 🦁 #CancelCaptivity
Public pressure over 15+ years exposed the cruelty of SA’s captive lion industry, from cub petting to canned hunts and bone trade. In 2019, the High Court ruled CITES lion bone quotas unlawful, stating animal welfare must be considered, leading to a skeleton export moratorium. #CancelCaptivity
🐾 Welfare Big Cat Cubs – #throwback2025 🐾 Thousands of indigenous and exotic big cats in SA’s captive predator industry face the same welfare issues as lions: early separation, poor welfare, cub petting, zoo displays, & a thriving trade in skins, bones, claws etc. #TheyFeelToo #CancelCaptivity
🐾 Welfare Big Cat Cubs – #throwback2025 🐾 Thousands of indigenous and exotic big cats in SA’s captive predator industry face the same welfare issues as lions: early separation, poor welfare, cub petting, zoo displays, & a thriving trade in skins, bones, claws etc. #TheyFeelToo #CancelCaptivity
🐾 Welfare Other Predators – #throwback2025 🐾 SA’s captive predator industry exploits not only lions but many other indigenous and exotic big cats. Some, like young leopards, are kept in cages as small as 10×14m, leaving little room to move or exercise. #TheyFeelToo #CancelCaptivity
Playing with cubs, walking with lions or taking predator selfies fuels a cruel industry ⛓️🦁⛓️ — not conservation. ‼️ Cubs aren’t orphaned. ‼️ They’re bred for profit. Say no to captivity and help end their suffering. Be the change. #TheyFeelToo #CancelCaptivity #KillingThemSoftly
Playing with cubs, walking with lions or taking predator selfies fuels a cruel industry ⛓️🦁⛓️ — not conservation. ‼️ Cubs aren’t orphaned. ‼️ They’re bred for profit. Say no to captivity and help end their suffering. Be the change. #TheyFeelToo #CancelCaptivity #KillingThemSoftly
📢 YOU’RE KILLING THEM SOFTLY 📢
Paying to pet, walk or watch captive lions fuels cruelty for profit ❌🦁 Their lives are short, their suffering real. You’re not helping them — you’re killing them softly.
🟢 Say no to captivity.
🟢 Say no to exploitation.
#TheyFeelToo #CancelCaptivity
📢 YOU’RE KILLING THEM SOFTLY 📢
Paying to pet, walk or watch captive lions fuels cruelty for profit ❌🦁 Their lives are short, their suffering real. You’re not helping them — you’re killing them softly.
🟢 Say no to captivity.
🟢 Say no to exploitation.
#TheyFeelToo #CancelCaptivity
How can we implement the closure of the captive lion industry? We encourage @Minister Dr Dion George to take the first vital steps by:
🔴implementing a moratorium on breeding more captive lions
🔴extending protection to other exotic & indigenous predators
It’s time to #CancelCaptivity
South Africa is top global wildlife supplier, exporting 16+ million live wild animals (2013–2023), incl. 5,500 predators. Many go to China and Vietnam with poor welfare records, fueling trade in bones, skins & meat. SA has a moral obligation to protect these animals. #TheyFeelToo #CancelCaptivity
❓Does captive lion breeding aid conservation❓
Research by Blood Lions & @WorldAnimalProtection finds:
❌ Demand not met
❓ Preferences mixed
❓ Costs unclear
❓ Restocking uncertain
‼️ Illegal trade rife
➡️ Captive lion breeding offers NO conservation benefit for wild lions. #CancelCaptivity
In SA’s captive predator industry lions & other predators suffer deeply. Poor diets, disease, stress & confinement lead to obesity, injury, pacing, self-mutilation & mental distress. Their welfare is compromised for profit. #TheyFeelToo #CancelCaptivity More: bloodlions.org/theyfeeltoo6/
❓Does captive lion breeding help conservation❓Research by Blood Lions & @WorldAnimalProtection shows
🦁 Little evidence of wild lions used to restock farms
🦁 Criminal links & weak enforcement enable laundering of wild parts
➡️ No proof lion farming benefits wild lions. #CancelCaptivity #BornToLiveWild
📸 #KeepItWild Challenge! Reminder 📸 Submit your wild big cat photo + background story by 24 Oct 2025. Open to all photographers 👉 tinyurl.com/59ka8b43. Entries will join an open letter to SA’s Minister urging a ban on captive lion breeding. Share & take action! #CancelCaptivity
In SAs commercial predator industry not only lions, but leopards, cheetahs, servals, tigers & more are bred. Torn from mothers, used for petting & photo props, sold to zoos, and traded for parts. Their suffering is the same. #TheyFeelToo Time to #CancelCaptivity More: tinyurl.com/7426xs8a
Rarities, like white lions, lions with dark manes, or white tigers are widely bred in SAs captive predator industry for their trophy hunting value. They’re bred from small founder populations causing inbreeding & welfare issues. #TheyFeelToo Time to #CancelCaptivity More tinyurl.com/7426xs8a
Big cats in predator parks across South Africa are used for entertainment experiences like photo props, cub petting, walking experiences, and circus-style performances. It’s time to say NO, to end the exploitation, to #CancelCaptivity & #KeepItWild More: tinyurl.com/5adccdnf
South Africa’s captive predator industry is tied to tiger trade in SE Asia. Tigers are speed-bred in squalid farms, butchered for bones, claws & teeth made into jewelry and skins & meat to feed luxury markets. Extinction for sale. #TigerMafia #CancelCaptivity More: tinyurl.com/5adccdnf
South Africa’s captive predator industry exploits lions & other big cats for profit 🐾. Cubs torn from mothers, malnourished, neglected & denied natural instincts—all for human entertainment. Don’t be part of the problem. #CancelCaptivity #KeepItWild
More: tinyurl.com/5adccdnf
South Africa’s captive predator industry exploits big cats in tourism experiences, to be bottle-fed, as selfie props, circus acts, and caged for their “educational value”. This is not conservation. It’s time to say NO. #CancelCaptivity #KeepItWild More: tinyurl.com/5adccdnf
South Africa has minimum requirements for enclosure space for lions, but most other big cats are not afforded such standards. Their cages can be as small as 10x14 m for three young leopards. This impacts their welfare further due to the inability to exercise. #TheyFeelToo Time to #CancelCaptivity
Debunking Industry Myth #1:
Captive breeding of lions is for commercial purposes, such as the tourism industry, voluntourism, captive or “canned” hunting, the live trade, and the trade in their parts and derivatives.Read: bloodlions.org/about-the-br... #bloodlions #cancelcaptivity
Last year, Stop Poaching Now held their annual E-Race Extinction event in support of endangered species conservation.
As one of the beneficiaries, we'd like to extend a massive thank you for their continued support of the Blood Lions campaign.
#cancelcaptivity #SouthAfrica
Please sign this petition 🖊 🙏
#SouthAfrica’s government recently committed to ban the “#lion jails” where about 8,000 #lions are trapped & exploited. Conservationists & citizens are urging the government to extend the ban to all big cats. #CancelCaptivity
secure.avaaz.org/campaign/en/...
Great news! #SouthAfrica Hand over your #lion bone stockpiles for destruction, minister tells breeders!
#CancelCaptivity
#BloodLions #BredForTheBullet!
www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024...
