A canned hunt is a trophy hunt which is not “fair chase”; it has been made too easy for the hunter. In some examples, animals have been kept in a confined area, such as in a fenced-in area, increasing the likelihood of the hunter obtaining a kill. In most cases the lions are kept in tiny enclosures, are confined to horrible places, with limited or no food and extreme stress and with no hygienic and veterinary care. A “hunter” can then choose the lions he wants to kill and conduct the killings in the easiest way, even sitting from his vehicle. Animals do not stand any chance. Such facilities even put male lions in small enclosures for them to fight each other, so lions can have scars on their faces and the trophy can seem to come from a total wild lion.
Canned hunting is a fast-growing business in South Africa, where thousands of lions are being bred on more than 160 farms to be shot by wealthy foreign trophy-hunters. There are now more lions held in captivity (upwards of 5,000) in the country than live wild (about 2,000).
Wild@Life e.V. Is dedicated to rescue such lions from such facilities with the local partners.
During November 2019, our team has reached South Africa to rescue 22 lions from one of these farms.
The team was overwhelmed seeing 10 lions kept in a totally secluded and closed shed with no light nor grass.