South Africa’s conservation debate is too often anchored within the blunt slogan, “If it pays, it stays.” At face value, this appears pragmatic, even responsible. But there’s a troubling premise underneath it: the survival of South Africa’s wildlife depends on its ability to generate an enormous income for a select group of wealthy farmers and […]
Tag: canned hunting
“Notoriously cruel methods are involved in training elephants be ridden.” 10 cruellest and most barbaric animal attractions on the planet…
Cruelty to wild animals can take many forms and is often not obvious to the casual viewer. Many of the worst examples – elephant riding, civet coffee tours, for example – are commonly offered to tourists in the countries in which they take place and might appear to be traditional aspects of their cultures. What this list […]
Escape from Extinction: Rewilding review – the case for eco-tourism and trophy hunting
In 2020, producer-director Matthew Brady, in collaboration with the animal welfare charity American Humane, made a well-meaning but oddly hectoring documentary called Escape from Extinction, narrated by Helen Mirren, which took the pragmatic view that zoos were vital in preserving animal species in danger of dying out. The larger causes of environmental calamity were evidently […]
Wade Lemon, the Utah Outfitter Who Infamously Guided Donald Trump Jr., Will Do Prison Time for Running ‘Canned’ Mountain Lion Hunts
A Utah big-game outfitter who’s been investigated for alleged wildlife crimes in the past was sentenced in federal court Thursday for leading “canned” mountain lion hunts on public land in 2020 and 2021. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says that by profiting from the illegal hunts, wherein the clients unknowingly killed mountain lions that had been […]
Freya the rescued lion cub is safe in South Africa, but many other lions there are bred to be shot
PAARL, South Africa — Freya, a 6-month-old lion cub rescued from the wildlife trade in Lebanon, poked a curious nose out of her transport crate and sniffed the air. Satisfied, she took her first cautious steps in her new forever home in a sanctuary in South Africa. Freya’s relocation to the Drakenstein Lion Park is […]