Wednesday 9 September 2015

Bred for the bullet: Hunting is NOT conservation




Following the recent story of Cecil the lion I feel it is time to empower and educate myself and others, confirming Head On Design’s philosophy that we need to appreciate our natural heritage and make conscious decisions about what we buy and organisations we support.

Sitting in a sold out Labia theatre last week Tuesday I was brought to tears by “Blood Lions,” a brutal documentary that exposes the multi milltion dollar captive lion and canned lion industry. I was heartbroken and deeply disturbed not only by how these carnivores are treated and killed “legally” in South Africa but by how little the public know about what is happening in our very own back yard.

The film is directed by filmmaker Nick Chevalier and follows the journey of conservationist and journalist Ian Michler, and Rick Swayze – an American who poses as a trophy hunter.
The Blood Lions organisation’s goal is to bring an end to canned hunting and the exploitative breeding of lions and other predators on farms across South Africa and to create awareness about this cruel and unethical industry on a global scale. The result so far that Australia is the first country to ban the importing of trophy heads and the hope that others will follow suit.

Did you know:
  • South Africa is home to approximately 8000 captive lions. These lions are bred to be exploited purely for commercial gain, from “innocent” tourist attractions such as walking with lions and petting lion cubs, to canned hunts and for the Asian lion bone trade.
  • According to www.bloodlion.org every single day 2 to 3 lions are being killed in canned hunts. 
  • Hundreds more are slaughtered for the lion bone trade in Asia.
  • There are only approximately 2300 free roaming lions in reserves and parks according to the Endangered Wildlife Trust.
  • Lions bred in captivity become human imprinted and genetically impaired and are unable to be released into the wild despite what carnivore breeding facilities may say and do not contribute to the conservation of the species in anyway.

What you can do:
  • Be a responsible tourist
  • Make responsible purchases. For every Head On Design lion trophy head purchased, we will donate 10% of the proceeds to the Endangered Wildlife Trust and Blood Lions. Buy Now
  • Watch the Blood Lions trailer 
  • Get involved in the campaign against captive lions and the canned lion industry  
  • Support organisations like the EndangeredWildlife Trust 


Photography credit: www.jamesgradwell.com


#responsibletourism #bloodlions #bredforthebullet #endangeredwildlifetrust #conservation