A panel discussion was held following the film in which the Director of FOUR PAWS in South Africa, Fiona Miles and the Executive Director, Africa for Humane Society International, Tony Gerrans, discussed captive lion breeding and the trade in lion parts.

The feature documentary was completed after nearly three years of investigation and filming in South Africa, Vietnam and Laos, and tracks the journey of British conservation writer Richard Peirce as he visits lion ranches in South Africa, as well as wildlife markets in Southeast Asia. The film features interviews with local lion breeders as well as facilities in which big cats are housed prior to being shot for the trade in lion bones.

This follows in the week after the closing date for nominations to the Lion Task Team that will advise the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Barbara Creecy, on how to offer captive lion breeders an exit from the industry.

One of the questions put forward by the parliamentarians were what effect the closing down of the captive lion breeding Industry will have on unemployment.

The Director of FOUR PAWS in South Africa, Fiona Miles, said that the captive breeding industry has long held the view that their contribution to employment is financially significant.

Miles explained that around job loss and job creation FOUR PAWS can vouch that a True Sanctuary like their LIONSROCK Big Cat Sanctuary in the Free State has led to sustainable job creation in the area.

She pointed out that at breeding facilities is often an unsafe environment for employees where they must work in an undignified way without being trained. LIONSROCK proves ethically run true sanctuaries can create jobs sustainably, as the policy documents that led to the proposed White Paper on Conservation and Sustainable Use of SA Biodiversity has as a key aim.

On the question what will happen to the 8-10 000 lions in captivity if the industry is closed down, Miles said that there needs to be an assessment to ascertain exact population numbers, the welfare of individual lions and the state of the facilities.

Lions, Bones and Bullets premiered at the Monte-Carlo television Festival in Monaco a year ago and has followed Oscar-winning My Octopus Teacher as a winner in the Jackson Wild Media Awards in the Educational and Informational Film category. Discussions between local television broadcasters and the film’s distributors are under way for South Africans to see the film. The film is expected to contribute to the debate about the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment’s White Paper on Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity. /END