The family of Limpopo lodge owner Arthur 'West' Mathewson, killed by a lion this week, are saddened but find comfort in knowing he died “while living his dream of being in nature and with his lions that were so close to his heart”.
An activist group has warned that lions remain wild animals and should always be treated with respect, with no human interaction.
“Blood Lions does not support the interaction of humans with wild animals. There is no need to do that and holds no conservation value,” said Nicola Gerrard, of the Blood Lions campaign. “While these lions were domesticated from a young age, they are still extremely dangerous and have a wild instinct.
“The conservation community will tell you that it is not advisable to be interacting with wild animals in captivity.”‚ 46‚ and a colleague were cutting wood near the Lion Treetop Lodge‚ when two white lions escaped from their enclosure. He was attacked when he ran away.“We are devastated by what has happened‚” Mathewson said.“Justice‚ who I believe only had minor injures‚ was airlifted to hospital where my business partner visited him every day until Saturday.
Gerrard said there were more than 200 predator breeding farms in SA and their campaign’s goal is to bring an end to canned hunting and the exploitative breeding of lions and other predators on farms across the country.
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