Finding forever, ‘semi-wild’ homes to protect lions from exploitation and the Bone Trade

Committed to ethical conservation, The Wild Heart Wildlife Foundation in Johannesburg works to support several Ethical Sanctuaries and Rehabilitation Centers across Southern Africa to ensure that Wildlife, including threatened or protected Species, get the help they need.

Having been approached by Governing Authorities, the organization has embarked on a new project to protect more than 20 captive-born, parent-reared lions, and find them safe, ethical, forever home sanctuaries. As the current facility is overcrowded, they will need to be relocated to ensure their survival.

Phase 1 of the project is already underway:

Vasectomies have been performed on two of the breeding-age males to ensure that they cannot father any cubs, and are protected from exploitation by the canned hunting and lion breeding industries.

Several lions have also received vaccinations, veterinary care and micro-chipping.
The lions have also been given additional shade while they wait to be rehomed.
The organization is also spending a lot of time and effort screening prospective homes to ensure ethical practices, and non-exploitative futures for the lions.

“Currently the lions are in a safe, ethical, non-breeding facility, with no human interaction, but their numbers are exceeding the recommended saturation levels as instructed by Nature Conservation. Consequently, we have received instruction from the Authorities to find the excess lions suitable forever homes, rather than risking the lions being euthanized.”

Founder/Director of The Wild Heart Wildlife Foundation, Paul Oxton.

CJ Carrington and Paul Oxton, founding members of The *Wild Heart Wildlife Foundation.*

To continue the rescue operation, which will take several months to complete, the organisation has launched a crowdfunding campaign, called Life4Lions on donations based crowdfunding platform, BackaBuddy. Thus far over R2300 has been raised towards their fundraising target of R27 500.

Funds raised will be used for Veterinary Procedures, Veterinary care and regular checks, Micro-Chipping, DNA sampling and recording, Vaccinations and Health Checks, and lastly, the Relocationand Transportation of these majestic creatures to their forever, ‘semi-wild homes’.

“These lions have the incredibly important job of being as happy and free as they can ever possibly be, without human interaction or exploitation. We have the incredibly important job of making it possible for them to do just that. There are just too many lions in captivity in South Africa, and the devastating reality is that far too many of them will end up being sold to canned hunting facilities, and be disposed of in the lion bone trade.”