Page 28 - ARUBA TODAY

A28 SCIENCE
Monday 6 February 2017

Trade in African lion bones for Asian market faces scrutiny

CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA poacher was caught with bone study. Sometimes,
Associated Press lion bones,” Begg wrote in lion teeth and claws are
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — an email to The Associated used as talismans and lion
Wildlife traffickers in a major Press. paw bones feature in heal-
African park have been of- “There is no doubt that ers’ divination sets, she said.
fering rewards for a full lion poaching trade routes for Williams said she is aware
carcass, raising concerns ivory, pangolin scales, lion of cases “where Asian na-
that poachers are increas- bones, rhino horn are very tionals have been arrested
ingly targeting a vulnerable similar and the lion bones, at airports with undeclared
species because of de- teeth and claws are all go- lion teeth and claws” and
mand in some Asian coun- ing out the same way and that more research is need-
tries for lion bones used in are found in confiscated ed to firmly establish any
traditional medicine. shipments that also contain link between an apparent
The report from Mozam- ivory and rhino horn from surge in lion poaching and
bique’s Niassa National Re- Mozambique,” Begg said. the Asian market.
serve comes amid debate In this file photo taken June 15, 2014, lions yawn in the Madikwe Last year, Mozambican po- South Africa has proposed
about whether the legal, Game Reserve, South Africa. lice seized a haul of rhino a 2017 export quota of 800
annual export of bones Associated Press horn as well as six kilograms skeletons of captive-bred
from hundreds of captive- Paul Funston, senior lion pro- poaching of antelopes (13 pounds) of lion claws lions, many of which are
bred lions in South Africa to gram director for the Pan- and other animals for food, and teeth in suitcases at killed by paying clients in a
China and Southeast Asia thera conservation group. which deprives the preda- the international airport in practice described by crit-
could spur the market, pos- He said he believes the tors of prey. The number of the capital, Maputo, ac- ics as “canned hunting.”
sibly leading to the illegal phenomenon is linked to in- African lions in the wild has cording to media reports. South Africa’s environ-
killing of wild lions for their creased Chinese demand dropped by more than 40 In January, poachers cut mental affairs department
bones as well. African lion rather than the longtime percent to about 20,000 in through fences at an ani- raised a concern that runs
bones are a relatively re- use of lion parts in some tra- the past two decades, ac- mal park in neighboring counter to that of some
cent substitute in tonics for ditional cultures in Africa. cording to estimates. South Africa’s Limpopo conservationists, saying a
the bones of Asian tigers, “It seems to start with teeth The Niassa wildlife park province and decapitated ban on the trade in cap-
whose numbers were de- and claws, which probably has at least a third of Mo- and chopped the paws tive-bred lion bones could
pleted by poachers. mainly have trinket value, zambique’s population of off three male lions. Similar trigger more poaching of
There have been “multi- and migrates to bones and 2,700 lions. Colleen Begg, a cases have been reported wild lions.
plying anecdotal reports carcasses once a market is leader of a carnivore proj- in recent weeks. Police said Richard Thomas, spokes-
of lions harvested for body established,” Funston said. ect there, said the local use Friday they arrested a Mo- man for TRAFFIC, a conser-
parts” along with “increas- Lions face other threats, in- of lion parts is not a major zambican and four South vation group, said the legal
ing examples of whole skel- cluding human encroach- concern yet and that lion Africans after receiving industry must be closely
etons being taken,” said ment on habitats and the poachers appear to be ca- information that people monitored.
tering to the Asian market. were selling lion heads in “We don’t fully understand
“We have middlemen the province, South Africa’s the dynamics of the lion
coming in and offering a News24 website reported. bone trade, and while it
motorbike or $1,500 for a Recent South African cases may not currently be hav-
full lion carcass. This started “have the hallmark of do- ing a perceived impact on
about 18 months ago and mestic consumption for the wild lions in South Africa, we
is a real worry as, through local traditional medicine simply don’t know whether
poison and snares, they trade,” said Vivienne Wil- that’ll be the case there in
are now directly target- liams, a researcher at the the future or whether it’s
ing lions. Most of our in- University of Witwatersrand presently the case else-
formation comes through in Johannesburg and the where in the continent,” he
informers, but last year a lead author on a 2015 lion said.q