Thousands of big cats are being reared in cramped cages in China and South Africa in what is an “expanding, lucrative and largely hidden industry”, said charity World Animal Protection. They are being bred on an industrial scale for tourist attractions such as cub petting and to be “harvested” so their body parts, from bones to penises, can be used in traditional Chinese medicine. Tiger wine and balm are touted as cures even though they have no proven medical benefits and affordable non-animal alternatives are available. In South Africa lions are also reared for canned hunting where they are “stalked” in enclosures with no hope of escape by rich hunters who pay about £12,000 per kill. As the hunters are usually only interested in the lion’s head as a trophy, the farm is free to sell the rest of the body to Chinese medicine practitioners in the Far East.
WAP said there are up to 6,000 tigers at big cat farms in China while South Africa is believed to have about 8,000 captive lions in 200 facilities and 280 tigers on 44 sites.
Dr Jan Schmidt-Burbach, global wildlife adviser at World Animal Protection, said: “Does the life of an animal mean nothing at all?
“These big cats are exploited for greed and money – and for what? For medicine that’s never been proven to have any curative properties whatsoever.
“For that reason alone it’s unacceptable. But given that at each stage of their lives they suffer immensely – this makes it an absolute outrage.
“Many of these animals will only ever see the world through metal bars, they will only ever feel hard concrete beneath their paws, and they will never get to experience their most basic predatory instinct – a hunt.
“Instead, they are taken away from their mothers as tiny cubs, forced to interact with people or perform tricks, to be then shot or slaughtered so that their bodies can be harvested for products.
“This should not be the life for these incredible animals – whether it be in farms or in entertainment venues.
“These animals are majestic apex predators, not playthings. Nor are they medicine.”
The WAP report, Trading Cruelty, said its investigators visited three big cat farms in mainland China.
The report said: “At all facilities, the researchers noted clearly distressed tigers living in small, inadequate and poorly maintained enclosures.
“Some animals appeared malnourished to the extent of emaciation, their backbones were clearly visible. Others were grossly overweight.
“The space the animals were forced to live in was tiny compared to their natural wild territory.”
MYTHS OF BIG CATS’ HEALING POWERS TRADITIONAL
Chinese medicine is a £40billion-ayear industry which treats big cats as vital ingredients for its potions.
A report by wildlife trade experts Traffic detailed the uses:
The bone is ground down into a powder and put in wine and glue to treat rheumatism
Tiger bones can also be steeped in wine so it can absorb the big cat’s healing powers
The funny bone supposedly has the greatest healing powers of all
The bile is used to treat convulsions in children
Tiger feet deter evil spirits
Claws are ground down to create sleeping pills
Whiskers are seen as a cure for toothache
Bones in tiger faeces are used to treat boils and alcoholism
The skin is for mental illness
The tiger’s penis is highly prized – as an aphrodisiac, often as a flavouring to wine.