WATCH: 'Blood Lions' doccie launches on YouTube
The documentary, which lays bare the disturbing and deadly canned lion hunting and breeding industry, first premiered in 2015, but can now be watched for free.
Cubs born into the canned hunting industry are raised to be killed, and are denied their right to be wild. Picture: Blood Lions website
JOHANNESBURG - The award-winning 2015 documentary exposing canned lion breeding and hunting has found a new, permanent home.
Blood Lions was officially launched on YouTube on Thursday, in a bid to increase awareness around the exploitation of captive-bred lions and other predators.
When it first premiered more than eight years ago in more than 180 countries, the film received positive, albeit outraged, responses, said Blood Lions director and producer Pippa Hankinson.
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"This is indeed happening, with our government’s acknowledgement that the industry has no conservation value, has discredited South Africa’s conservation and tourism reputations, and that it should be phased out," she said.
For decades, breeders across the country have created human-manipulated life cycles of lions and other predators, with thousands being raised for the sole purpose of being killed in "canned" or captive hunting operations.
The film exposed how the industry was linked to the booming bone trade in Asia.
Cub petting, walking with lions, and voluntourism were also linked to the business, which saw countless tourists being duped into supporting the trade.
Lion cubs born in captivity are separated from their mothers when they are a few days old, and within a month, they are forced into petting enclosures to be hand-reared and bottle-fed by tourists under the impression they are contributing to conservation efforts.
A ministerial task team appointed by the Minister of Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Barbara Creecy is currently trying to identify voluntary exit options for owners complicity in the industry.
Blood Lions director Ian Michler said having the documentary available for free public viewing was a way to continue spreading awareness about "the horrors of the captive breeding and canned hunting industries."
"With each passing year, South Africa’s conservation and tourism reputation remains stained while thousands of lions and other predators continue to suffer," Michler said.
Watch the Blood Lions documentary for free below: