08 Nov 2015

Minister of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism says the canned lion hunting situation in South Africa has direct pressure in Botswana because the need to get the Kalahari lion is high.

Speaking at the screening of Blood Lions, a documentary on canned lion hunting, where President Lt Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama was part of the audience, Mr Tshekedi Khama said recently Botswana has intensified its patrols along the southern border to prevent such.

He said Botswana was one of the leading countries in wildlife conservation and so far was successful in preventing the barbaric practice of canned lion hunting though the pressure was still on.

Meanwhile, Blood Lions follows acclaimed environmental journalist and safari operator Ian Michler and Rick Swazey, an American hunter on their journey to uncover the realities about the multi-million predator breeding and canned lion hunting industries in South Africa.

It is a story that blows the lid off claims made by these operators in attempting to justify what they do.

The documentary reveals that last year alone over 800 captive lions were shot in South Africa, mostly by wealthy international hunters under conditions that are nothing but sporting.

The producer, Mr Ian Michler said he had been following the story since 1999, and he went onto the breeding farms to witness the impacts that decades of intensive breeding was having on the captive lions and other predators.  ENDS