Jason Wood MP, the Federal Member who worked with local resident Donalea Patman and her NFP For the Love of Wildlife to create a GLOBAL FIRST. Australia is the first country to ban the importation of lion trophies and body parts as a direct response to the cruel and barbaric industry of canned hunting – months before the death of Cecil.
Wood will be speaking at this year’s Global March for Lions – Melbourne with Donalea Patman (For the Love of Wildlife), Bruce Poon (Animal Justice Party), Laurie Levy (Coalition Against Duck Shooting) and Lynn Johnson (Breaking the Brand) MC’d by animal loving celebrity Tracy Bartram.
Starting at Federation Square at 10am walking to City Square where speeches will take place, followed by an exclusive screening of the explosive movie Blood Lions. This film focuses on the work of investigative journalist and conservationist Ian Michler, exposing the links between the cub petting / lion walking tourist attractions and the horrific industry of lions being bred for the bullet.
Tickets for exclusive screening of Blood Lions
Recently Campaign Against Canned Hunting (CACH) withdrew from I’m A Celebrity due to the use and exploitation of a 5 week old lion cub that came from a breeding farm. Network Ten and ITV producers continued to ignore conservation advice using leopard cubs in a following episode with Shane Warne and Val Lehman.
The purpose of these events which are being hosted around the world is to raise awareness and educate the public about the links between cub petting and canned hunting and to show that these immoral high profit focused operations are of no conservation benefit to Africa’s lions. Celebrity vet Dr Chris Brown was duped just like thousands of tourists and volunteers believing the cub Network Ten sourced was an orphan.
8000 lions in captivity in around 200 farms just so hunters can get a quick, efficient, cost effective, guaranteed kill. These animals have been hand reared and habituated taken off their mothers a few days after birth, forcing the lioness back into estrus – factory farming the “King of the Jungle”.
Often drugged or baited, some walking up to the vehicle that has the hunter as they are tame. Some/many of these store bought living trophies suffer sickening wounds for minutes or much longer as shot after shot can be taken to finally claim their beloved and “hard” fought trophy. Lions from these farms can never be returned to the wild as they have lost their fear of humans and genetically impaired due to inbreeding. Wild lion populations are targeted and killed, cubs stolen to reinvigorate the breeding stock of captive breeders. This is a high profit, ego driven Industry where money talks and conservation walks!
It is estimated that as few as 15,000 to 20,000 lions are left in the wild, less than rhino. France has followed Australia’s ban with other countries including the UK and EU in talks with major conservation groups.