“I see that Elise Tempelhoff is making a fool of herself again, thus bringing discredit to the newspapers that she represents, Media 24. She insists on pontificating on subjects about which she herself clearly knows nothing – lions and their husbandry in captivity. And, in her ignorance, she quotes animal rightist NGOs whose opinions have absolutely no credibility in the eyes of real wildlife managers.
Attempting to counteract her assertions about the diseased state of the captive lion population of South Africa will only-proof fences. So, if a disease were to irrupt in any one of them, it is doubtful that it would spread to the next lion farm in the chain.
She obviously also does not know that all lion cubs in the captive population are inoculated against a whole range of common diseases at birth – delivered by qualified veterinarians; and they receive booster inoculations when they are weaned (at four to six months). Furthermore, all the populations receive super veterinary attention at regular intervals throughout their lives. And she cannot have heard that the host of veterinarians that serve South Africa’s captive lion population have declared them to be the healthiest lions on the continent.
Ron Thomson. CEO – The True Green Alliance.
