MEDIA STATEMENT
ISSUED ON MONDAY 21 JANUARY 2008
CONTACT ALISTAIR SINCLAIR ON 011-907-3590
LIVE FEEDING – IT HAPPENS HERE!
The “feeding of live prey” is an issue that the National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA) has taken up to the extent that an application for leave to appeal was granted and the matter will be placed before the Supreme Court of Appeal. This relates to the Chinese Tiger Trust’s placing blesbok in a captive environment, allegedly for tigers to learn to hunt. There are clear parallels with the “live feeding” at the zoo in China as exposed by the Saturday Star on 18 January 2008.
Anyone who saw the horrific visuals from China or who read the graphic descriptions of how live animals are “fed” to carnivores, cannot but agree with the NSPCA and our determination to stop “live feeding” in South Africa. This includes stopping the Chinese Tiger Trust feeding of live prey – rather than accepting a verbal undertaking that the procedure will stop.
The NSPCA is heartened that caring people have responded to the horrific story and photographs and asks that everyone who is concerned joins us in turning their eyes to our own country. That is, lions are not indigenous to Asia. Where did the lions in the photographs come from? The NSPCA has irrefutable proof that wildlife, including lions, are exported from South Africa to destinations including China, to be placed into captivity.
We believe and have said so for years, that this wildlife trade needs to be exposed for what it is, pure exploitation for profit. Those culpable include persons or departments issuing the required permits and taking zero responsibility for the consequences of their actions.
They should be named and shamed along with the exporters.
As a footnote, the SPCA movement is not “species-ist”. Our concerns include the feeding of live prey within domestic or pet shop environments. That is, placing live mice, hamsters and other small creatures in an enclosed tank with a snake. The same elements apply, including that this is not entertainment, is certainly not funny (as many people think it is) and we see no difference between a terrified goat being placed amongst hungry lions and a terrified small creature that has no escape from a snake’s captive environment.
Creatures in the wild and in captivity are not the same thing, including in the manner of feeding. It is a spurious argument that carnivores need to be fed animals, live. Not in captivity they don’t!
Feeding live prey is a scourge on our own country. Anyone with evidence of it may contact their nearest SPCA to lodge a report for investigation or contact the NSPCA on nspca@nspca.co.za
China’s shame, yes indeed, but our priority needs to be to eradicate this horrific practice from our own country and to identify the wildlife exporters and put a halt to our animals being condemned to Chinese zoos.
NOTE: - The feeding of live animals to captive predators in Chinese zoos has been referred by the NSPCA to the World Society for the Protection of Animals who recently opened offices/established a base in China. Concerns include the overcrowding, barrenness of the enclosures plus apparent poor condition of the lions.
~~~~ends~~~~