Johannesburg - Renowned British wildlife conservationist, writer, and author Richard Peirce says he was left shocked and horrified during his visit to South Africa, when he visited various lion farms to shoot his latest documentary film “Lions, Bones, and Bullets”.
“It was very difficult to accept that the king of the animal world was being factory farmed like a cow or pig. We often witnessed lions being kept in really dismal circumstances, and it was clear that the main motivation was financial, and there was very little interest in the animals’ welfare as long as they could be kept alive until they became an adult bag of bones, and then could be cashed in for profit.”
Pierce and his two filmmaking partners, Anton Leach and Jasmine Duthie, recently released the gripping wildlife documentary “Lions, Bones, and Bullets”.
It was completed after nearly three years of investigation and filming in South Africa, Vietnam and Laos.
The film features interviews with local lion breeders as well as facilities in which big cats are housed prior to being shot for the trade in lion bones.
Peirce and his team have also revealed their shock and horror during their visits to the Far East.
“We had to try to strip emotion out of our reaction and just do our job as investigative reporters. Seeing a vast array of wild and domestic animals all under one roof being sold for consumption was a novel and upsetting experience.
“Many of the species being sold in these Far Eastern wet markets are actually being sold illegally because the countries in which the markets exist have signed up to a Treaty called CITES and CITES lists endangered species and countries who are in the treaty have theoretically agreed to be bound by its terms and not sell these endangered species.
“Equally shocking and depressing were the products on open sale in shops which were also being sold illegally according to CITES listings. We found tiger products (which may have been lion), ivory, pangolins, rhino horn, and many other species on open sale.”
The documentary which has already been seen by South Africa’s parliamentarians prior to its international screening release, was received with shock and horror.
Parliamentarians attending the screening of the documentary included the IFP’s Narend Singh, the DA’s Dave Bryant as well as members of the Portfolio Committee on Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment.
The documentary is a follow-on from Peirce’s book “Cuddle Me, Kill Me”, which was an investigation into the captive lion breeding industry.
“Originally the main reason the lions were bred in captivity was to satisfy the demand for canned hunting. Cubs are taken away from their mothers at only a few days old for various reasons all of which were related to profit...Most of the time the end of the exploitation chain was a bullet from a canned hunter’s gun. However, in recent years various bans on importing lion trophies have greatly reduced the demand for canned hunting, and most of the bones now end up in the bone trade and are sent to the Far East and China.
“This is because it is impossible to tell a lion skeleton apart from a tiger skeleton, and due to the high demand for tiger products in the Far East lions are now substituted. Many products such as tiger wine and tiger cake are all made from skeletons, and quite simply it is cheaper to import a lion skeleton from South Africa and pretend it is a tiger than it is to rear a tiger.”
Peirce added that together with Leach and Duthie, they set out to make a genuinely neutral investigative documentary, and present the facts involved in lion breeding to people so that they could make their own minds up whether it is an industry that is morally and economically defensible or not.
“It has taken three years to make the film and there were many challenges. All three of us are very proud of the finished product, and although there are continual developments involving this industry, the film remains as relevant as it was on the day we started making it.
“We hope that this factual investigative work will help to inform the government process led by Minister Creecy that is currently considering the future of this industry.”
Peirce has also opened up about their visits to the various lion farms in South Africa, with some farms keeping lions in “appalling” conditions.
“We discovered lions being kept in a variety of conditions from the ‘not bad’ to the ‘absolutely appalling’. In the film we tell the story of two lions who had been rescued from this industry by the NSPCA, and were in such bad condition that although they have now recovered and are safe in a sanctuary, they will never be fully functioning animals and able to live normal lives even in a protective sanctuary location.”
Peirce says, however, he isn’t able to reveal the names of the lion farms they had visited in South Africa due to legalities.
Peirce says lion farmers are conducting a 100% legal activity, and the way humans view cow farming as opposed to lion farming is to a degree based on the emotion behind the iconic image of the lion.
“On a personal level, meeting lion breeders was a struggle, because we had to work hard to blank off our feelings and try and do a neutral job, and tell both sides of the story. We truly believe that ‘Lions, Bones and Bullets’ is an accurate reflection of the industry, and this is what gives the film its value.”
Asked what he was hoping to achieve from the documentary, Peirce says: “The purpose of this film is not so much to achieve anything, as to do what investigative documentaries are supposed to do, which is to provide a fair and accurate portrayal.
“I believe we have succeeded in this. We are now delighted that the film has started to be sold for a television broadcast and our distributors have already arranged sales right across Europe.”
“In many ways, the most important broadcast would be on South African television and we are currently waiting to hear the results of discussions between our distributors and various South African broadcasters.”
He says the documentary has provoked strong emotions from those who have seen it so far.
“The reactions to ‘Lions, Bones and Bullets’ so far have been that people have been shocked, angered, and dismayed. However, on a general level there has almost been a reaction of gratitude for the information we have presented and the awareness it has triggered.”
Meanwhile, global animal welfare organisation Four Paws believes the film is an important exposé of exploitation in the lion breeding industry and the lion bone trade.
“It’s something that Four Paws in South Africa and other organisations have been working on for years,” said Fiona Miles, Director of Four Paws in South Africa.
“Our own #BreakTheViciousCycle campaign petitions the government to end the commercial trade of all big cats from South Africa. The film demonstrates, in no uncertain terms, through the eyes of a seasoned investigative journalist, that the scale of the exploitation is not only a global threat to iconic species, but also that there can be unprecedented consequences like the spreading of infectious zoonotic diseases.”
Miles said that it was important that a documentary of this nature has been produced.
“The abuse and suffering of lions depicted within the film, and with voices of esteemed criminologists like Don Pinnock, is a compelling way to show a global audience that we need a wake-up call to the plight of big cats and the impact we are having on their species.
“In South Africa, it is a chance for organisations like us and our partners to bring this conversation to the forefront with policymakers.”
Miles believes that the heart-wrenching way in which the film-makers expose the truth can strengthen the hands of those who are fighting to get the industry banned.
“It can also inform those who did not know about the cycle of abuse and see that they need to be aware of facilities they visit that might be involved in farming of animals for trade. We hope this will help people make more informed and responsible choices when thinking of visiting big cats in captivity in South Africa.
“It can also empower the public to voice their concerns to their local parliamentarians to push for change at policy level.”
Miles added that they were pushing for the immediate banning of captive breeding.
“The captive lion breeding is cruel, has no conservation value, and is damaging to South Africa’s international reputation for wildlife tourism and conservation. The industry has been exposed for the unethical ‘canned’ or captive lion hunting, the exploitative tourist cub petting industry (and various activities related to this) and the lion bone trade to Asia. An immediate ban is necessary to bring an end to every one of the phases in this cycle to prevent further exploitation of the animals in captivity and to protect wild populations, as the trade contributes to the demand for their parts elsewhere.
“In addition, captive lion facilities create a dangerous breeding ground for zoonotic diseases, which in turn leads to a potential health risk to international and local tourists, as well as staff working at the facilities”.
Miles added that one of the key things that Four Paws are pushing for in their campaign is that all big cat species are included in the Department for Environment’s proposed phase out of the captive lion breeding industry.
“The commercial big cat industry has grown so large in South Africa, that now even non-native and endangered species, such as tigers, are also being bred in captivity for the same commercial purposes.
“This contravenes international wildlife trade agreements that South Africa is a party to.”