South Africa selling tiger and lion hunts to Chinese nouveau riche
Tigers, leopards, lions, elephants and rhinos were among the many species of wild animals on offer by South African hunting outfitters at the first-ever Chinese hunting show in Shanghai last weekend.
Critically endangered tigers, considered to be ‘functionally extinct’ in China, are now offered by several South African hunting businesses.
Since tigers are primarily defined as an exotic species in South Africa, the captive breeding, trading and hunting of this CITES Appendix I species is unregulated, with an estimated 60 mostly unlicensed tiger breeders, including several backyard breeders in Gauteng.
Inkulu African Safaris in the Eastern Cape advertised black rhino hunt for between Euro 500,000 and one million at the China Hunting Show, Imberba Rakia in Limpopo offered tiger hunts (prices on request only), and Clayton Fletcher from Tinashe had a 7-day ‘cat in the bag’ hunting package, including lion, oryx, blue wildebeest, zebra, springbok, and warthog, for US$22,000.
Firearm ownership in China is heavily regulated making it nearly impossible for individuals to possess a rifle and legal hunting grounds are limited, so the burgeoning elite with little shooting experience travel abroad to indulge in their new-found hobby.
Lack of hunting expertise does not seem to be as an issue for the South African hunting outfitters represented at the show over the weekend. Fletcher of Tinashe Outfitters for example guarantees to make any Chinese hunter competent to shoot within a 2-day period.
The booming Chinese economy has created an extensive, affluent middle-class of 400 million people with a third already travelling outside China, according to the China Hunting Show website.
In search of new markets, South African hunting businesses now offer a myriad of African wildlife to these nouveau riche Chinese citizens and lions are still one of the top choices.
As South Africa only issues about a dozen wild lion permits per year, the tawny and white lions adorning the exhibition brochures are most likely captive bred.
Don’t let the wide, open space of these game farms fool you. These lions are not hunted in the wild, but in an enclosed area with no escape.
Smaragda Louw (Ban Animal Trading South Africa), who visited the show.
Tinashe Outfitters located in the NW province for instance can legally offer hunting of a captive bred lion a mere four days after its release from captivity. The shortest release time in any province in South Africa with no restrictions on the minimum camp size.
Are these would-be hunters aware that most of these lions will be captive bred and habituated to humans through unscrupulous activities, such as cub petting?
As expected, many visitors attending the China Hunting Show over the weekend were completely unfamiliar with the concept of trophy hunting, let alone “canned” hunting. However, “by the end of the day, cash was changing hands as first-time hunters began planning their first overseas hunting trips”, stated show officials on social media.
This article is written with support of Conservation Action Trust and appeared among others on The South African, SA Breaking News and eTurboNews.
Green Girls in Africa 
Dear Louis
Im sorry but your article is inaccurate. Canned hunting takes place in private game reserves owned by wealthy white farmers. Nowhere in your article do you clarify this.
Government of SA and ordi ary SAna are not party to these transactions in any way.
I always enjoy reading your articles by the way.
Kindly
Fiki
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.
You are correct Fiki that canned hunting happens on private game farms and only a very small group of people is involved in this industry. Although the canned hunting is on private land, the SA government enables this industry and has allowed the captive lion breeding industry to flourish unregulated into what is now a very ugly beast. Sadly, that is reflecting badly on SA as a country and as a tourism brand. Hunting in national parks is fortunately not allowed in South Africa.
Some of the stories posted on my blog, like this one, were published as media stories with serious word limits, so I can’t always clarify everything in the article. However, feel free to comment and ask questions at any time and I am happy to elaborate.
I am glad you enjoy reading my stories – always nice to hear 🙂
Louise de Waal.I am Clayton Fletcher.You my dear madam are very similar to satin.You take some truth and a little bit of a lie and sell it to the Ignorant public as Fact.You are the same as all the ARA.How much money do you collect from this lying propaganda.You state all these Lies after you send old pathetic ladies to stand and listen at a distance what we speak through a Translator to potential clients and you take what she thinks she heard and post it like its true.You make this into a Black and white issue to make it look like a white privilege things so you can turn Government against the only few Farmers creating jobs for Thousands of farm workers in the very remote parts of the country.These people live Hand in Hand with us.There is no racial strain in the Kalahari because we have a Very good working relationship with the people.Now you want to play God in the lives of these people that have no where to go if the farms close down.You want to play God over farms that must choose between cattle and Wildlife which by the way is the biggest threat to lion and Wildlife in general the land issue and Habitat.You don’t even know where Tosca and Bray is on a Map but you want to play God.Well i think the biggest threat to Wildlife are the ARA and evil disgusting humans like you that have never put one cent into saving any wild animal especially lion.You have never bought land and stocked it with 20/30 species.And created an Oasis for all species to thrive through sustainable scientific Use through Hunting and creating of value.And by the way.CANNED IS ILLEGAL.So stop throwing that word around like that’s what we do.You have never ever had the guts to come see us face to face because you want to create your own little pathetic lies to sell to your IGNORANT Followers. Well you sweetheart will never stop what we are doing because there is no form of conservation more effective than creating Sustainable value through hunting.WE ARE NOT AFRAID OF LIARS LIKE YOU.CLAYTON