Year of the Tiger? Big Cat farming in South Africa: The Need for International Action
An Entertainment Abuses Articles from All-Creatures.org

FROM FourPaws
February 2022

There are hundreds of private facilities in South Africa that actively breed four of the big cat species (lion, tiger, leopard, jaguar) and in some cases hybrids of these species (or cross breeds) for commercial purposes. A network of breeders has emerged, creating a multimillion- dollar industry where big cats and their parts are exported in vast numbers.

Four Paws Big Cats

South Africa is intensively breeding tigers and lions for a commercial trade in live animals and their body parts. There is also a significant commercial trade in leopard parts through hunting trophies and trade in live jaguars and their parts from captive sources.

The trade is primarily to Asian countries where there is a strong demand for big cat parts to be used as luxury items or for traditional medicines. Countries such as China, Vietnam and Thailand are known hotspots for big cat farming and illegal trade, and a significant proportion of live animals and/or their parts that are bred in South Africa are traded to these countries. The lack of adequate and effective regulations for the keeping and breeding of all big cats in South Africa, and the existence of a legal lion bone trade, has allowed a partially regulated legal industry to flourish whilst also acting as a conduit for an illegal trade.

captive Lions and Tigers

There are hundreds of private facilities in South Africa that actively breed four of the big cat species (lion, tiger, leopard, jaguar) and in some cases hybrids of these species (or cross breeds) for commercial purposes.

A network of breeders has emerged, creating a multimillion- dollar industry where big cats and their parts are exported in vast numbers. The lack of effective controls on record-keeping and regulation and the level of overt breeding and commercial trade, has made it impossible task to estimate the numbers.

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Please read the ENTIRE INVESTIGATIVE REPORT HERE (PDF).

captive bred big Cats


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