Finally, I found some good news about saving the white lion!
Originally written in 2018, I wrote this article after meeting Linda Tucker, founder of the Global White Lion Protection Trust. So, this blog shares good news with you!
Where do the cuddly cubs come from?
Picture this: tourists seated in an enclosure and cuddling white lion cubs. Sounds fun, right? Sure, the tourists pay big bucks to do it (and often get beautiful photos to capture the moment). But did they think about where the cubs came from?
For cuddle time, cubs are taken from their moms and raised by people, who then sell a chance to cuddle with tourists. Bereft of her babies, Mom becomes fertile again and has more cubs. Once again, people take away those cubs from her. Puppy mills created for lions! Sadly, it’s completely legal.
It gets worse – canned hunting
Once the cute and cuddly cubs grow up, they can’t curl up with their tourist playmates any longer. In their next phase of life, the company puts them in an enclosure. Then trophy hunters pay big bucks to shoot them as the now-grown cubs cower against the fence.
Sadly, this unbelievable practice is called canned hunting— it’s literally the lion version of “shooting fish in a barrel.”
That’s why there are 300-500 white lions in captivity and only 11-13 in their natural habitat.
Now the good news!
For the last 30 years, Linda’s mission is to save the White Lion from extinction. With this goal in mind, she created the Global White Lion Protection Trust to return White Lions to a 4,400 hectare protected area in South Africa.
In 2024, after decades of sharing the terrible story, the South African government took action. Read the good news from this article, “Finally – An Exit for the “Cuddle-to-Kill” Industry?”.
“Finally, after decades of campaigning, presentations to parliament, and public outcry, the South African government declared in 2021 that this heinous industry would finally be shut down. In March 2024, Environment Minister Barbara Creecy’s Policy Position to close close lion facilities and end commercial exploitation of lions and ‘canned’ hunts was accepted by Cabinet.”
What can we do?
- Think about what you consider “entertainment” when animals are involved. For instance, are the wild and/or farm animals being treated well, allowed to live with their own kind and their families? Do your research before you spend your money.
- Don’t trophy hunt.
- Volunteer at local animal sanctuaries.
- Support valid animal charities.
- Use fewer animal products.
- Eat fewer animals.
Read my blog
(As I’m reading this, an ad for Serengeti comes on the tube!) Yes, I’ve heard this. People take their kids to petting zoos. I checked eval’s, and all that’s addressed is what a good time the children have. I wrote about it on Facebook in agreement with a PETA story (yes, I know they’re not perfect, but their story was right on target). What to do? Education of kids as well as adults is important. How to get their attention will take some doing. Parents will be difficult, kids can be taught to resent it. Who’s the current rock star of the kids?
Thanks for your input on this, Mary Jane. PETA’s a good source of what’s going on along with a number of wonderful animal protection and rights groups. They have a website for kids, https://www.petakids.com/. They tell the truth about entertainment using animals.
There’s even a video of child actor August Maturo showing what it’s like for an orca to live in SeaWorld.https://www.petakids.com/videos/actor-august-maturo-shows-what-its-like-to-be-an-orca-at-seaworld/