WORLD LION DAY 2023
This is the tenth anniversary of World Lion Day which is celebrated on the 10th of August every year. It is a day dedicated to the global raising of awareness for the declining population of the big cat species.
The EMS Foundation has always encouraged the South African government to take the necessary steps to protect wild lion populations, these steps include the maintenance of a healthy ecosystem in order to balance the food chain, we have openly discouraged the trophy hunting of lion and we have actively exposed the lion bone trade in our efforts to close South Africa’s captive lion industry.
On the tenth anniversary of World Lion Day, the EMS Foundation and Ban Animal Trading have written an open letter to Minister Creecy in which both organisations have highlighted the Ministerial and Departmental responsibilities in relation to the significant and important changes to NEM:BA effected by the NEMLA Act, with respect to the trade in an export of live wildlife.
It is therefore unfortunate that we have to publish the details of a disturbing export of ten live lions from South Africa to Lao, an export which took place three weeks ago, on the 18th of July 2023.
A COPY OF THE FULL LETTER: