Lion cubs for sale on WhatsApp group probed
Cape Town - The Animal Welfare Society of South Africa is investigating allegations of keeping and selling a litter of Lion Cubs by a Pretoria resident who apparently marketed the wild animals on a WhatsApp group for R35,000 each.
A video of three lions was shared on the WhatsApp group advertisement where the cubs could be seen walking on wooden floors inside a home.
Allan Perrins, a seasoned veterinarian of the Animal Welfare Society of South Africa in Philippi said they were alerted about the sale of the cubs and immediately contacted the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural development (GDARD).
Perrins confirmed (GDARD)would be in communication with their offices on the way forward in the matter.
He said a suspect was yet to be apprehended and cubs found and could not disclose the information of whom the authorities were tracing in order to protect their investigation.
Perrins said wild animals belonged in the wild and found the case very disturbing.
“The Animal Welfare Society of South Africa is investigating a distressing complaint regarding the alleged keeping and sale of a litter of lion cubs by a Pretoria resident,” he said.
“They are being crudely marketed on a Pretoria WhatsApp Group for R35,000 per lion cub and thus far we can confirm that we know the alleged sellers name and contact details.
“The matter has been reported to the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARD) who have the mandate and authority to act.
“It is our sincere hope that the lion cubs will be confiscated and ultimately be returned back to the wild.
“Keeping a lion as a pet is sheer madness and courting disaster as they cannot and should never be domesticated.
“They are the proverbial kings of the jungle and will bite the hand that feeds them of which we are 100% certain.
“There appears to be three cubs. The seller advertised the lion cubs for sale on a private WhatsApp Group. The advert was read with shock, horror and disbelief and shared with us.”
Perrins explained that the laws governing the keeping, breeding and sale of wild animals in Gauteng are regrettably far more lenient than those in the Western Cape where this type of trade would be considered an offence and prohibited.
“As far as our involvement in the matter goes, we are simply acting as a conduit to help expedite matters (and the complainant has complete faith and trust in us).
Perrins said cubs should never be kept as pets as they are instinctively dangerous and in the case of most big cats near impossible to domesticate. Lions and many other wild animals have the capacity to kill which defines them as a real danger to people (and pets).
“We are opposed to the wholesale keeping of wild animals in captivity as it is cruel and very difficult to mimic their natural habitat. It is also degrading to the status of the so-called Big Five.
“Common sense, not money, greed or self-gratuity should always trump any other considerations before taking on the onerous responsibility of an exotic creature like a lion.
The Hawks, the Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation confirmed the matter was not in their hands when queried by Weekend Argus.
National Police spokesperson, Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said she would query whether the case was being investigated by their Stock and Endangered Species Unit.
In May 2024, two lion cubs were impounded by the Kloof & Highway SPCA and placed out in a place of safety at an NSPCA, National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Accredited Wildlife Facility after they received a complaint that the cubs were inside a residence and found the wild animals in the driveway.
Najwa Dirk’s son, Sulaiman Effendi and a co-accused paid R20,000 each or faced 12 months imprisonment in 2021 after they were charged under the Endangered Species Act for keeping a lion cub as a pet.
The Weekend Argus previously exclusively revealed how Effendi and Shurud Jacobs was given a fine of R20,000 or faced 12 months imprisonment after they entered into a plea and sentencing agreement while their co-accused, Rayaan Simons charges were withdrawn.
The case made headlines in 2019, after the police’s Stock and Endangered Species Unit found the lion cub at Effendi’s home in Lawrence Road, Athlone.
The cub was transported from Thabazimbi and found in Athlone on August 21 2019.
The police’s evidence was further fuelled when a photograph of the cub being held by Effendi, who was mimicking a scene out of the movie, “The Lion King”, went viral on social media.
A video also circulated showcasing the cub walking in a garage around vehicles.
The trio faced 14 charges in total relating to the protection of wild animals.
The cub had been purchased for an estimated R50,000.
Soon after the cub’s rescue and capture, Cape Nature confirmed, they were forced to euthanise the four-month-old cub because it would not be able to adapt to the wild.