Stop big cat exploitation now!

 Harrowing evidence documents the suffering that these animals are subjected to, caged in tiny enclosures resembling industrial factory farms. In Asia, rows of bare and barren battery-style cells house hundreds of tigers as well as lions.
In South Africa, lion cubs are seen pacing around crying, and in another image, a motionless lion cub so deformed that it has missing limbs because of inbreeding, can be seen.
The research also shows worrying attitudes towards these products.
In Vietnam, a staggering 89 per cent of consumers in traditional Asian medicine believe in unproven medical products made from tigers and lions, and a quarter of its population uses wildlife products such as ‘big cat plasters’ and ‘tiger bone wine’.
Of those that consume these products in Vietnam, almost 84 per cent prefer big cat products from animals caught in the wild rather than farmed.
In China, more than 40 per cent surveyed had used drugs or health products containing big cat products and over 55 per cent preferred their big cat products to be sourced from the wild as well, with 72 per cent claiming it’s because wild products are more potent than farmed
This highlights that big cat farming is fuelling a demand that also drives poaching of protected wild big cats, such as leopards, tigers, jaguars and lions – all in the name of traditional Asian medicine.
At ranches in South Africa, big cats, mainly lion cubs, are born into a life of exploitation. Some are snatched from their mothers in the wild, and many are born at breeding facilities.
They start their lives on petting farms, then once juveniles, they are used for ‘walking with lions’ experiences. Their lives then take a deadly turn as they are moved to game farms for canned hunting. Skins and heads are taken as trophies, and bones are legally exported through the skeleton quota – unique to South Arica. The bones are exported to Asia to supplement the illegal trade of tiger bone products, where they are processed into medicines and wines.
In China, huge, industrial-style big cat farms have row upon row of tiny cells, each housing a miserable big cat. These facilities provide only the minimum needs for the cats to survive, such as food and water and many of the animals documented were emaciated.
In addition, numerous entertainment venues offer opportunities to see tigers perform in shows and have pictures taken with them. At some of these venues, you can also purchase tiger products.
“Many of these animals will only ever see the world through metal bars, they will only ever feel hard concrete beneath their paws, and they will never get to experience their most basic predatory instinct – a hunt. Instead, they are taken away from their mothers as tiny cubs, forced to interact with people or perform tricks, to be then shot or slaughtered so that their bodies can be harvested for products,” says Dr Jan Schmidt-Burbach, Global Wildlife Adviser at World Animal Protection.
“This should not be the life for these incredible animals – either in farms or entertainment venues.
These animals are majestic apex predators – they are not playthings – nor are they medicine. Big cats are wild animals and they deserve a life worth living.”
While the consumer attitudes research shows some worrying trends, there are also some promising results. It shows that between 60-70 per cent of Vietnamese and Chinese respondents said they would stop buying big cat products, if they knew there were issues surrounding authenticity, conservation, welfare or legalities. Also, 68 per cent of big cat consumers would be willing to try herbal alternatives if they were cheaper.
The report outlines viable herbal alternatives that traditional Asian medicine recognises for treatment of conditions that consumers would often buy big cat products for.
For more information about World Animal Protection Organisation go to www.worldanimalprotection.or.th. To sign a petition to end captive tiger breeding, log on to http://bit.ly/2L8Faia