Lion Bone Wine

The African Lion is one of the most majestic and beautiful wild cats that still roams this earth today. Left virtually un-touched apart from trophy hunting the Lion has lived in grace, and has never been subjected to any form of mass extinction or poaching for traditional Chinese medicine. This is now changing though.

The African big five consist of the Rhinoceros, Lion, Elephant, Buffalo and Leopard. All of which are being hunted and poached for tusks, skins or horn that supplies the increasing Asian market with fake medicine, fur skins and ivory. Firstly let me explain about the this gentle giant the African Lion.

The African Lion (Panthera Leo) is one out of four of the big cats that live in the African plains and parts of Asia although rare. Their weight can easily exceed (250 - 300kgs) and they are the second largest living cat in the world after the Tiger. The have a top running speed of 50-60 mph and can keep this speed at exactly 3.5 minutes as long as the terrain is flat. The Lion is carnivorous (meat-eater) and weighs much around 70kgs more than that of its female species the Lioness.

Lions live in both Africa and Asia and one of the most endangered species can be found in India, Lions have lived on this earth for approximately 10,000 years and where the largest land mammal after humans. There has been a vast decline in the population of the African Lion by 40-50% and this is mainly due to trophy hunting and environmental changes that have occurred on the earth within the last 50 years. The west African Lion is the “most endangered”. Please view the west African species below. Please also view the other main picture underneath of the west African Lion.

Picture below is taken using a starlight camera, at night. It shows the beauty and elegance of these cats taken at night. Credits to the Telegraph.

The west African Lion is one of the most endangered Lions that currently living in Africa.

Lions can live up to 10-15 years in the wild but will live in captivity for approximately 20-25 years. We do not like to see any animal in captivity “unless” that animal has had to be taken in to captivity for its (own protection from humans OR it has a severe medical problem that could hinder its life) if left in the wild. It’s hard to accept when I do read that these amazing cats that have lived on this earth for over 800,000 years are being bred in captivity for trophy hunters and canned hunters. Aswell as being poached to for what we can now confirm as listed in 2009 as fake tiger bone wine.

The Lions closet relatives are the Tiger, Jaguar, and Leopard. Lions died out in the northern Erasure at the end of the last glacier age around 10,000 years ago. When man invented the zoo from 1828 - 1847 many Lions and other species of wild cat where inter-bred. Due to mans interference, there are now very bad genetic cross breeds of lions that are actually doing the lion more harm than good.

Since the early 1900’s Lions and other wild game such as Elephants, Rhinoceros, and Buffalo have all been hunted for trophies. Most hunters where either English, Dutch or American. Lions now face a new threat though that can fully confirm and that is poaching for fake medicines and canned hunting from which their bones are sold to eastern traders. Not for trophies though but to feed the (TCM) market. Traditional Chinese Medicine and restaurant’s with “fake Tiger bone wine” or in this case Lion bone wine. Why has the Lion though now become a hit with the Asian market? the Tiger in Asia “Sumatran and Bengal” are being hunted to extinction the Sumatran is now almost wiped out, and since the “illegal trade” in Rhinoceros poaching opened up this has now also opened up a vast market in Lion hunting.

Both Bengal and Sumatran tigers are hunted for an array of Asian medicines. All of which are fake and have been proven to be of no use to the human body at all. Tiger bone wine does not cure impotency, loss of sex drive, headaches, migraine, cancer, nor diabetes and arthritis. Tiger bone is just Tiger bone. These cats are becoming extremely rare now in the wild with an estimated 90 or as stated by some (400) left of the Sumatran and 1,000 of the Bengal left in the wild jungles of India and other parts of Asia. However there are more than 15,000 Bengal’s that are “PETS” in America and also parts of Africa in total in the (wild there are 20,000 left out of the 100,000). A large Tiger reserve has been set up in South Africa now to try to save the population from extinction this is small though and only houses a few species. please view these magical cats below. The Bengal and Sumatran.

The picture above is that of the Bengal Tiger. Found mostly in India they are now fighting to stay alive due to India’s population growing rapidly out of control. Vast developments are pushing these cats in to villages to look for food, from there if they are caught they are beaten to death or if they are lucky they will be sedated by a warden, however most of the times they are beaten to death with sticks and stoned due to a lack of rapid response teams to tackle this major problem. Similar to that of the Sumatran but “not the same” they are hunted for fake Asian (T.C.M) medicine along with their skins, skeleton and body parts such as the penis that is said to be of medicinal properties. Again there is no evidence of this and it is just another rumor that’s killing this cat. Please view the video of the Bengal in its glory.

The picture above is that of the extremely rare Sumatran Tiger that’s found mostly in Indonesia or Malaysia. This amazing wild cat will be extinct in just under two years unless Malaysia and the Indonesian government get to grips with the poaching issues that are now killing these cats off. The Sumatran Tiger is the most sought after cat for Tiger bone wine. It is said to have many medicinal properties compared to that of its cousin the Bengal. Greenpeace recently exposed Asia Pulp and Paper in 2011 in  year-long undercover documentary that highlighted the devastating impact of what palm oil and the logging industry was doing to these cats. Asia Pulp and Paper have killed many Sumatran Tigers as of their “illegal and lucrative” logging and palm oil trade that opens up roads and dirt tracks in to the jungles allowing the poachers to get to the cats more easily instead of trawling through vast networks of forests. TRAFFIK is doing all it can to stop the illegal animal part trade but as Asia focuses on many animals for the traditional Chinese market then trying to protect these and other “endangered” species is proving to be difficult to say the least. Please view the 2 part videos below. The second video is that of Greenpeace’s undercover year-long investigation in to the killer trade that will if not managed soon see another Tiger wiped out.  Within the second video it depicts the Palm oil and paper trade that’s going to kill our Tigers and other Asian species off. The Sumatran Orangutan, Elephant and Tiger. Vegans and vegetarians we call on you all to please stop purchasing any goods that have palm oil in them. By purchasing these products your killing the wild animals and adding more fuel to the fire.

Unlike that of the Bengal Tiger the Sumatran is proving now hard to find and poachers will be seen sat next to the river’s edge awaiting even a sign of Sumatran’s presence. However the Bengals are sadly confined mostly to zoos in China, that they say “is for their protection”. On viewing an undercover documentary on this it turned out to be highly incorrect. The Bengals where being deliberately starved ready to be executed for Tiger Bone wine. There are from what we know only 90 + left in the wild and even that number can not be confirmed with very little sightings of these cats for weeks or even months on end. Some critics and other environmentalists have stated 400+ however this can cover those that are in protective captivity for their safety to increase the numbers.

What is Tiger bone wine? well please take a look at the horrifying picture below first before I explain to you.

This is the sickening image of how our Tigers and now Lions in the wild are firstly poached, then placed in to a vat like this above that was uncovered during an investigation in to this trade that China likes to hide and does not wish for you to view. They are then left in the tank to brew and mature. Sadly though no one can be certain if this is actually Tiger bone wine or that of a Lion. Like it was said in 2009 after reports started to leak out that Lions where being hunted now for traditional Chinese medicine.

China holds many parks that have wild cats in them. These parks are not as China or other parts of Asia like to make out. They will hold up to 100 cats at a time in any one enclosed area or just in small cages that are no bigger than 30 square foot. It is illegal in China to make and sell Tiger bone wine but it has not stopped the park owners from making it and the “SELLING” it to un-suspecting visitors or to restaurants, In some restaurant’s you will actually see the Tiger like this in the vat, which has Rice wine added to it. The trade in parts of endangered species has been subjected to a ban since  1987 and has been outlawed in China since 1989.

How do African Lions though relate to this post?. Well as explained above “but not in great detail” the number of Tigers now in the wild has fallen to a drastic level. The (E.P.A) Environmental Protection Agency quoted that there are a limited number of Tigers left in the wild with a rough estimate of 3,500 - 7,500 and only about a half of those are breeding adults. As quoted above there is a rough estimate of 17.000 in America that are mostly pets or confined to zoos. The number really can not be stated at 3,500-7,500 as no in-depth count has been done recently. What one can explain though is that the number has dropped drastically from 100,000 to now 20,000 and is going down steadily by the day.

As quoted by the (E.P.A) ”

Ever since the 1980′s small tiger farms have been created that could actually house more tigers than there are free in the wild. It has been suggested that a removal of the ban on using endangered species would allow the use of farmed tigers for traditional medical purposes without hurting the wild tiger population.

An EPA spokesperson  indicated that the cost is much higher to raise tigers than to shoot them in the wild and “Lifting the ban would increase demand and lead to a surge in poaching. It would be far too easy to launder their skins, bones and parts among those from legalised tiger farms. This would effectively declare an open season on wild tigers.”

Tiger Bone Wine has been reported selling for around $25 to $35 per bottle, but good luck clearing customs with it”. Many organisations have reported on this, and news and media too. It’s not old news to and agencies along with governmental leaders should have protected the species that sadly now is placing the Lion in great danger that we “the International Animal Rescue Foundation” did warn of in 2011 when we were told of how serious the Rhinoceros poaching crisis was. This report here published in 2008 we are hoping they the BBC now will help us in to now highlighting again what was published by the BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7444266.stm .

The picture below is Xiongsen bear and tiger village from which members of the public belive these tigers and other wild animals Bear and Lion are kept. They are starved and kept in cages. Bears have bile taken from them again for a fake medicine “bear bile” and the Tigers along with Lions to that feature here are starved and then murdered to make Tiger or Lion bone wine. The restaurant menu is all to shocking to view to with fried Tiger penis, or other parts of Tiger or Lion that you can have cooked up for you anyway you wish.

Xiongsen bear and tiger village is given a rather good tourist information guide as you can see in this link here http://www.travelguilinguide.com/sight/guilin/323.html sadly though little does the tour guide know of the actual harrowing daily abuse that is inflicted up on these gentle giants. Tourists are given all the thrills and all the enjoyment off seeing wild cats, and lizards to bears roaming around the so-called zoo. They never see these images below though from which Tigers are left in cages and starved  to death then murdered for Tiger bone wine. Lions are now going through the same here from recent undercover investigations and again being starved then made in to “fake Tiger bone wine”. Unless you’re an expert in this area or an animal pathologist then one will never be able to tell the difference from that of a Tiger or a Lion skeleton that’s being held in a vat of rice wine. Please see the 3 images below on what the tourists do not see, and what China likes to hide from the world.

Animals Asia are working on closing this zoo down and we will support them every step of the way by constantly monitoring this zoo. The link which is supplied on the bottom (with credits) to the Daily Mail online show more than that of just Tiger bone wine being made at this hell hole. http://www.beyond-the-pale.co.uk/tigers.htm Many Tigers are bred here including the extremely rare Siberian Tiger. We ask all tourists to please boycott this zoo and spread the word that Lions and Tigers in zoo’s across China and Vietnam are being held for this vile trade.

Lion bone wine has now got us and many other environmentalists very concerned. As you may be aware there is already a crisis in South Africa and other parts of Africa from which Lions are being poached or in some cases that we have seen trophy hunted to order and yes “this does happen”. A trophy hunter is supposed to keep his trophy as in the Lion or other dead game animal that he/she has hunted. However undercover investigations have revealed that in many hunting forums the trade in Lion trophies to asian citizens for mega bucks is ongoing.

Carel van Heerden quoted, chairman of the South African Predator Breeders Association, “said he was aware of the lion-bone trade. It was not permitted to kill lion just for their bones, but there were farmers who were selling the bones of lions that had been shot by trophy hunters. This was permissible, he said.

It was concerning, Van Heerden said, that there were apparently people who were killing lion for their bones. But he could not see this developing into a big business. “The price you get for lion bone is such that it is simply not worth it. There in any case are enough bone available from legal trophy hunting to meet the limited demand.” Asia does not want it to be like this though. They want to be able to obtain it freely then sell it for big money.

A brief but shocking look in to the lion bone trade can be seen here in this link Lion Bone Wine  To view the National Geographic exposure on this case please view here. http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2010/07/02/lion-bone_wine_threatens_big_cats/  As we did say in 2011 the trade in Rhinoceros horn although illegal has opened up now an avenue for Lion carcasses, simply because there is not enough Tigers in the Asian wild to now hunt to keep up with demand. Should the trade continue and not be addressed accordingly then we will lose the Lion. We already have the Black and White Rhinoceros at the brink of extinction, 2012 has seen 269 Rhinoceros poached with one luckily managing to survive a poaching incident on 12.7.2012. Three poachers still remain at large.

When did the lion bone wine trade take off? well its has been stated that it took of in 2009, however looking at the lack of Tigers that are in the Asian wild from 1999-2007 and the fact that poachers in Asia have admitted that they are finding it increasingly difficult to now poach a Tiger then we highly doubt that the trend took of in 2009 but more from 1990’s to present. The population of Lions in Africa has fallen 100,000 to 20,000 in the wild that dramatic decline was recorded from 1979.

It is virtually impossible to tell the difference between a Tiger bone and Lion bone unless you’re a bonified archaeologicalist so there could be hundreds off illegal animal part traders in China and Vietnam that have Lion bone on sale to the unsuspecting member of the public believing it is Tiger bone wine. This is what is making the job of environmentalists and also Interpol environmental crimes division so hard to detect. Please read the news statement here on the quench for Lion bone wine. http://za.news.yahoo.com/quenching-thirst-lion-bones-083700084.html Chris Mercer an activist against the legal canned Lion hunting has spoken well in this link. We are against all hunting and we are also disgusted that South Africa allows this to happen. It does not give the Lion a fair chance to run from the hunter and most of the Lions are shot mostly at point-blank range. A recent Facebook Safari page sold 3 Lions for canned hunting and this to we will be fighting to rid off Facebook. Facebook is a social networking site and is in no way an animal kill site. Mark Zukerburger founder of Facebook a “keen hunter” that brags about his kills should know better than to allow this to happen. But how can one stop this on Facebook when he enjoys the thrills of hunting http://gawker.com/5844497/mark-zuckerberg-is-killing-progressively-larger-animals as detailed in this brief link http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/mark-zuckerberg-hunting-diet-13709435

How can we stop this problem ? Well AVVAZ the petition site that has many thousands of followers has highlighted this cause for everyone to now take action. Please view AVVAZ statement below and please click the link and place your name and voice to the list and lets save our wild Lions now before 20,000 becomes just zero numbers.

Via the AVVAZ page please read then click on the link below to sign the petition. https://secure.avaaz.org/en/1_million_to_ban_the_lion_trade_sa/?copy

“Hundreds of South African lions are being slaughtered to make bogus sex potions for men in Asia. But a global public campaign can stop this cruel trade by hitting the government where it hurts — the tourism industry.
A ban on tiger bone sales has traders hunting a new prize — the majestic lions. Lions are farmed under appalling conditions for “canned hunting”, where rich tourists pay thousands to shoot them through fences. Now experts say lion bones from these killing farms are being exported to phony ‘medicine’ makers in Asia for record profits. Trade is exploding and experts fear that as prices rise, even wild lions — with only 20,000 left in Africa — will come under poaching attack.
If we join with people across the world and show President Zuma that this brutal trade is hurting South Africa’s image as a tourist destination, he could ban and punish the trade in lion bones. Avaaz is taking out strong ads in airports, tourism websites and magazines, but we urgently need 1 million petition signers to give the ads their force. Sign the petition on the right and tell everyone about it to build our numbers fast”.

Many  people in Africa are against boycotting and state that if boycotts where to hit the tourism industry then there would be a lack of income from this sector to place sufficient funds to areas where it is needed within the environmental sector. However we and countless others have been hearing this now for some time. Where not in to hurting the people, we and others want this sick trade banned now before we lose our lions. President Jacob Zuma pictured below.

Is the only man who can halt this now along with other African leaders. The Rhinoceros is being hunted in to extinction and he has yet to do anything really evasive to stop it. So what do we do?.. We boycott and then also carry on educating the Asian people and now trophy hunters that are making a quick deal from this.

You can leave a message with Jacob Zuma and his corrupt government just here however your most likely will not recieve a reply https://www.facebook.com/pages/South-African-Government/194109891221 or you can contact the Presidents team here http://www.gov.za/ or the environmental minister http://www.whoswhosa.co.za/edna-molewa-3283 Edna Molewa and demand that she now takes action before we lose our Lions.

We must take action now to save our majestic magical Lions or they will be gone forever. Please sign the petition and please contact the South African government time and time again and demand that they take action now before its to late. Below is a list of some companies on Facebook that offer their Lions up for canned hunting. From which we know are supplying some if not all to the Chinese and Vietnamese market.

Andy Ross is a professional hunter and loves to document his kills on Facebook, he has no disregard at all to the animals or cubs that this Male Lion may have been helping to nurture. https://www.facebook.com/groups/230678453704805/#!/andyross.maximumarchery His picture is below.

This lady Aney Aspeling on the 2nd May offered 4 Lions up on Facebook that we pleaded with to not have hunted via canned hunting. The conversation can be seen below. She claimed that 1 Lion was to old, and the others just did not get on with the Pride no more. When we offered a safe haven for these animals it was apparent to us that she had already had them murdered along with an Elephant too. She netted in total over R200.000 (RAN- African currency).  The conversation is below. Here is here Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/230678453704805/#!/aneysafaris

This is a brief extract from E-mails that we keep for proof regarding animal abuse.