Claws out over lion sale

Department official dealing’ with matter, says animal welfare society.

- Cornelia le Roux

The discovery of a Pretoria resident marketing a litter of white lion cubs on WhatsApp and the confiscation of a tiger cub from a Pietermaritzburg home made headlines this week.

These incidents have cast a renewed spotlight on legislation to regulate the alarming trend of big cats being kept as pets in residential areas.

In the video shared on a WhatsApp group, three mewing lion cubs can be seen wandering on the wooden floors of what appears to be the seller's private home.

The cubs were advertised with a price tag of R35 000 each.

The Animal Welfare Society of South Africa said it had alerted the gauteng department of agriculture and rural development.

"It has been reported to the Gauteng department of agriculture and rural development, who have the mandate and authority to act. Thus far, we can confirm that we know the alleged seller's name and contact details."

Animal Welfare Society of South Africa spokesperson Allan Perrins said the department assured the organisation that an official had been tasked with dealing with the matter.

"It is our sincere hope that the lion cubs will be confiscated and ultimately returned to the wild." But Isabel Wentzel, curator of the award-winning South African Animal Sanctuary Alliance, consisting of Monkeyland, Birds of Eden, the Jukani Wildlife Sanctuary and the Hidden Forest Wildlife Sanctuary, told The Citizen that rewilding of lion cubs was not an option.