On Saturday March.15th, a few dedicated activists marched up and down Edmonton's whyte avenue to protest and educate citizens of south Africa's dirty little secret; the "canned lion hunt". "Canned hunting is where the target animal is unfairly prevented from escaping the hunter, either by physical constraints (fencing) or by mental constraints (tame, habituated to humans.)" via - Cannedlion.org. There is a serious crisis facing wild lion populations due to this particular trophy hunt. There are an estimated 4,000 wild lions left in, and around S.A., and more than 8,000 bred in captivity for the Canned lion hunt. Trophy hunters from around the world pay a lot of money to travel to S.A. to hunt these captive bred lions all for the purpose of placing there head on a mantle of their killing wall at home. After the head has been discarded, the rest of the body is sold to individuals from asia who are involved in the underground and illegal operation of the 'lion bone trade', where the bones of the lion are deceitfully used for the ever popular asian delicacy 'tiger bone cake', as well as for other medicinal use. The 'lion bone trade' in asia is such big business that the massive profits will continue to further exacerbate wild lion populations in south africa, which are already heavily on the decline. This is a truly barbaric and inhumane exploitation of Africa's apex-predator.Tourism is another form of exploiting the captive lion trade in South Africa. People travel from around the globe to visit S.A., and a good number of them will pay an excessive amount of money to visit and volunteer at lion farms (game reservers). This insidious ploy at allocating funds from kind hearted individuals who believe they are undertaking and helping conservation efforts to protect these beings from the wild and illegal poaching; is downright deplorable and inexcusable. Money is being made, and all at the cost of a species, vital to the south african eco-system, who are facing a dangerous and downward spiral.
Now our little protest in Edmonton was last minute, and we weren't able to organize and plan things as well as we would of liked. However, we did the best we could, and im very proud of all the activists who used their voice to stand up against the injustice of the canned lion hunt in south africa. We were a part of the 'Global march for lions', in unison with 63 other cities from around the world. Including the massive demonstrations in London, UK, and Cape Town, S.A., where a few thousand people showed up to display their discontent on the 'plight of lions' in South Africa. As passersby walked down the busy sidewalk at Gazebo park in the old strathcona district of Edmonton's south side, we were there to greet them with chants of "Save our lions", and "Stop Canned Hunting". Ten out of ten people had no idea what canned hunting was, or who was responsible for endangering lion populations. It was evidence enough that awareness and education is absolutely fundamental on this issue. Tourism is a huge industry for S.A., and we need to bring to the forefront the issue of canned hunting, and these captive bred lion farms. I sincerely hope that our small-scale protest helped in bringing awareness to the urgent crisis facing lion populations in south africa. I look very forward to organizing a bigger and better demonstration in the months ahead.
I would like to thank Sara Brooks for co-hosting and organizing this last minute march for the lions with me, and for being such a dedicated animal rights activist. I would also like to thank Anna Stahl who is another truly dedicated animal rights activist for her continued commitment on being a voice for animals. A big thank you as well to the other activists who lent their voice to this important protest. My sincere gratitude to you all. For more information on the canned lion hunt in south africa, and the tireless work of Chris Mercer and Bev Pervan, then go to http://www.cannedlion.org/Here is a video link to an interview I did with the Digital Journal on our protest for the lions.
http://digitaljournal.com/news/world/global-march-against-the-canned-hunting-of-lions/article/376674
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." - Nelson Mandela
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.Damian
Quick note: As I was doing research in preparation for this demonstration, I came across a man known as 'the lion whisperer'. His name is Kevin Richardson, and there are a few videos online of his work in his 700 hectare lion and hyena sanctuary known as the "Kingdom". I have to say his work is astonishing, and im truly taken a back at his gift with these lions. If you haven't heard of him, or seen any of his videos, then please watch one of these links that I've posted below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2xNShpE3FI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oq8jARy3ZuE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlzFsYjzizE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHwfqqiOD6c
