Blood Lions film due in London

‘Blood Lions’ film “Bred for the Bullet” coming to London, 27 November 2015.

Blood Lions, London Tickets via Born Free Foundation

Blood Lions⁽¹⁾ filmmaker, Ian Michler talks us through the horrific conditions of the canned lion trade⁽⁴⁾ in South Africa – “Around 1,000 lions are shot while in captivity in South Africa each year. Hunters pay half the price to shoot a lion that has been bred for ‘Canned Hunts’ compared with Trophy Hunts.”

While it seems unethical to breed lions for hunting, Michler tells us it’s not (yet) illegal. Blood Lions tells us why Ian’s research has revealed that there are no conservation links when it comes to captive bred (‘canned’) lions.

The ‘availability’ of ‘canned’ lions does not deter some from seeking lions to shoot in the wild, nor does ‘Canned Hunting’ mean that its dubious clientele will not seek to ‘graduate’ to wild lion hunts in the future. In fact quite the opposite could be argued – ‘canned’ hunting’s availability will develop more hunters with a taste for hunting/poaching lions in the wild⁽²⁾.

Blood Lions has been released in South Africa, with the first international screenings announced for Australia ⁽³⁾ – 1 Sept – Fremantle Western Australia, 4 Sept – Sydney and 7 Sept – Melbourne. Now London on 27 November 2015.

Let’s hope Blood Lions goes on a much wider international release, getting the message out there, that ‘Canned Hunting’ is nothing more than cruel animal commoditisation and exploitation.

References:

1. Watch the Blood Lions trailer – Blood Lions
2. Fiona Miles, director of Lionsrock, a big cat sanctuary in South Africa run by the charity Four Paws , argues that ‘canned’ hunting promotes poaching – ‘The lion farms’ creation of a market for canned lion hunts puts a clear price-tag on the head of every wild lion, she says; they create a financial incentive for local people, who collude with poachers or turn a blind eye to illegal lion kills. Trophy-hunters who begin with a captive-bred lion may then graduate to the real, wild thing.’
3. Blood Lions NEWS: Wildlands and Regulus Vision are excited to announce that our first international screenings will be in Australia with For the Love of Wildlife. Visit: Event Brite Australia.
4. There are about 160 lion farms in South Africa. There are now more lions held in captivity (upwards of 5,000) in the country than live wild (about 2,000) with the income generated from the ‘canned’ businesses estimated at approximately £44.9m ($70m USD) in 2012, but increasing since. This ‘business’ is based on a typical income for a ‘canned’ lion hunt of £5,000 – £25,000 ($7,800 – $39,000 USD), plus resale of the lion’s body parts. The ‘canned’ income of course goes directly into the founding canned entrepreneurs’ pockets (less applicable taxes), with little evidence of trickle down into the wider population.