Lions to Be Confiscated, Moved to Gauteng

South African Press Association
(Johannesburg)

January 21, 2003

Lydenburg

The pride of lions, imported illegally to a wildlife sanctuary near Lydenburg by wildlife activists claiming to have saved them from 'canned' hunting, are to be confiscated and moved to Gauteng on Wednesday by the Mpumalanga Parks Board.

MPB spokesman David Nkambule confirmed on Tuesday that the trustees of the Enkosini Wildlife Sanctuary had been notified of the confiscation, planned for Wednesday morning.

The confiscated animals were to be taken to a lion and rhino park in Gauteng.

Nkambule said this was in accordance with an earlier ruling of the Pretoria High Court, which denied an application by Enkosini for an interdict against confiscation.

Enkosini trustees Kelcey Grimm and Greg Mitchell, who own the eight lions, have until January 15 to move the lions out of Mpumalanga.

Nkambule said the parks board refused them permits to keep the animals due to insufficient facilities.

Animal rights activist Chris Mercer, who claims to represent 24 animal welfare organisations countrywide, said Enkosini was making a last-ditch effort to save the lions from the trauma of removal by bringing an urgent application in the Pretoria High Court on Tuesday afternoon.

According to Mercer, Enkosini was applying for an interim interdict preventing the removal of the lions pending the outcome of another court case.

In this case, set to be heard on February 4, Grimm and Mitchell ask for judicial review of the MPB's refusal to grant them permits to keep the eight lions at Enkosini.

Mercer condemned the planned confiscation and removal of the lions.

"Something really has to be done about the repressive administration and abuse of authority in our nature conservation services. The game plan of the officials is easily apparent. Once they can get the lions away from Enkosini, they can adopt delaying tactics to prevent the courts from getting to grips with the matter.

"We in the animal welfare community are constantly amazed at the lengths to which so many nature conservation officials are prepared to go to exclude the public from participating in wildlife management.

"The behaviour of nature conservation officials in such matters is much more consistent with that of para-military vigilantes than with that of public servants. By contrast, the same officials fall over themselves to issue a permit to shoot an animal, even if it was endangered," Mercer said.

Steve Smit of the organisation Justice for Animals, who opposes the planned confiscation, said the planned sedation and move over hundreds of kilometres would only serve to traumatise the animals and put them at risk of sedation-related fatalities.

Mitchell and Grimm bought the eight Enkosini lions from eastern Free State game ranch owner and predator breeder Marius Prinsloo.

Mitchell, who had worked at Prinsloo's ranch, feared that the animals were to fall prey to so-called 'canned' hunters.

The lions were then moved to temporary accommodation in the Johannesburg Zoo. After establishing the Enkosini Wildlife Sanctuary, Mitchell and Grimm moved them there, but without the required permits from the MPB.

They have fought a court battle for the past eight months to keep the animals there.