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The Animal Welfare Society of South Africa has launched an investigation into shocking allegations involving a Pretoria resident accused of keeping and selling a litter of lion cubs.

Reports suggest that the individual was marketing these majestic wild animals on a WhatsApp group, seeking a cool R35,000 for each cub.

A video of three lions was shared on the WhatsApp group advertisement where the cubs could be seen walking on wooden floors inside a home, per IOL.

Allan Perrins, a seasoned veterinarian of the Animal Welfare Society of South Africa in Philippi said they were alerted about the sale of the cubs and immediately contacted the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARD).

Perrins confirmed that GDARD would be in communication with their offices to figure out the way forward, noting that the suspect was yet to be apprehended and the cubs are still not found. He noted that they could not disclose the information of whom the authorities were tracing in order to protect their investigation.

Perrins said wild animals belonged in the wild and found the case very disturbing.

“They are being crudely marketed on a Pretoria WhatsApp Group for R35,000 per lion cub and thus far we can confirm that we know the alleged sellers name and contact details.

“The matter has been reported to the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARD) who have the mandate and authority to act. It is our sincere hope that the lion cubs will be confiscated and ultimately be returned back to the wild.

Image: Screenshot

Perrins explained that the laws governing the keeping, breeding and sale of wild animals in Gauteng are regrettably far more lenient than those in the Western Cape where this type of trade would be considered an offence and prohibited.

“Keeping a lion as a pet is sheer madness and courting disaster as they cannot and should never be domesticated. They are the proverbial kings of the jungle and will bite the hand that feeds them of which we are 100% certain.

Perrins emphasised that cubs should never be kept as pets, highlighting their instinctive danger and the near impossibility of domesticating most big cats. Lions, along with many other wild animals, possess the innate ability to kill, making them a genuine threat to both humans and other pets.

“We are opposed to the wholesale keeping of wild animals in captivity as it is cruel and very difficult to mimic their natural habitat. It is also degrading to the status of the so-called Big Five.

“Common sense, not money, greed or self-gratuity should always trump any other considerations before taking on the onerous responsibility of an exotic creature like a lion.

In another case from 2019, where the police’s Stock and Endangered Species Unit found a lion cub at a home in Lawrence Road, Athlone, the suspects were fined and sentenced to 12 months imprisonment, while the baby lions were euthanised as they would never be able to adapt to the wild.

How sad.

[source:iol]