Andre Mentz- SAPA President.
The focus on the African lion has increased, especially on social media. It is clear that a lot of money can be generated by the animal rights lobbyists and Anti Utilisation Brigade, using the lion as bait!
Criminals abusing the ranch lion industry, not abiding by current legislation and welfare standards, create adequate material for them to broadcast into the world.
The media is flooded with twisted information, and mostly blatant lies about the ranch lion industry.
Did Lord Ashcroft actually send a team to South Africa to participate in, and stimulate crime? Question? – Instead of interacting with enforcement agencies, he chose to allow criminal activity to be filmed and kept it a secret from the Police and Green Scorpions until the end of his project?
Words like “accessory to crime” and “benefiting from crime” jumps into my mind. One should always ask journalists what the objective of their work is. In this case, I fail to see the contribution to the conservation of the African lion. It is a blatant attack on the industry, based on the behavior of a delinquent operator and without any substantial positive recommendations.
Lord Ashcroft also published a book, Unfair Game, indicating certain people to be members of SAPA, which is not true! They are not! He over-generalized and accused all facilities and all operators of being cruel. A responsible journalist will definitely debate the topic from all angles.. which is not the case here!! We all know that a new breed of so-called “journalists”, are actually activists that penetrated the world of social media to carry out attacks against hunting as an adventure tourism product in South Africa.
SAPA made a decision not to enter into the sordid world of the keyboard and social media war. It is simply not worth the energy. The breeding of lions is a legal activity that contributes millions to the economy of South Africa.
SAPA is more interested in developing the industry and participate in transformation to ensure that all South Africans will benefit from the lion as a sustainable resource.
SAPA is committed to using every opportunity to increase standards in the ranch lion industry. Since 2013 SAPA repeatedly recommended that membership of SAPA should be compulsory before any permit to breed lions may be issued. SAPA is acutely aware of the responsibility it has as an industry leader to ensure a high standard of welfare and an excellent tourism product.
SAPA is currently very active…
– Member of the Wildlife forum (National and Provincial)
– Supporting the Minister High level Panel.
– Interacting with NSPCA and Dept Of Agriculture to ensure the implementation of minimum
welfare standards
– Interaction with, and supporting PHASA as the lead agent to
ensure an authentic paper trail
and enhancement recommendations for hunted ranched lions.
– Support to research projects funded by the SAPA Conservation
and development fund
The bottom line is, be selective who you believe and who you support!
This is a call to all participants of the Lion ranching industry – join hands and stand up against the wave of unfair criticism based on isolated criminal activities of a small minority.
Join SAPA now!!
Andre Mentz- SAPA President
