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Jeff Moloi
According to a report by World Animal Protection, "unethical tourism" is killing Africa's vulnerable lion population.
In a report titled Breeding Cruelty: How tourism is killing Africa's lions, the organisation focuses on South Africa as a case study.
It mentions the death of Cecil the lion, but says there are many more cases like this.
"Cecil is just one incidence of suffering among many. Thousands more lions are being threatened by unethical tourism practices throughout Africa right now," the report said.
"African lions are not only hunted like Cecil. They are also bred for commercial purposes - to be used in lion parks to fuel tourist demand for photo props and for lion walking," the report says. "Yet most tourists are unaware of how their lion park visits may be threatening the very existence of these charismatic wild animals and are severely affecting their welfare."
The report says that there are around 150 captive holding facilities in South Africa which breed lions purely for commercial lions. The number of captive-bred lions in the country is believed to have doubled in the last 10 years - meaning there are more captive than wild lions in South Africa.
According to the report, over the last 21 years wild lion populations have decreased by 42 percent.
World Animal Protection condemns the practice of cub petting and lion walking, saying they have a "severe and negative" impact on the welfare of the animals.
"Cubs are prematurely separated from their mothers usually within a month after birth. In the wild cubs are not weaned until they are around 8 months old," the report says.
Being handled by hundreds of people a day causes unnecessary stress and injury to lion cubs, according to the report.
Once lions are too old to safely interact with tourists, they are either euthanized, kept in crowded captive conditions or sold to zoos, lion farms or even private collectors, World Animal Protection says.
It says that once the lions reach lion farms, the original parks have little control over what is done with them - with some ending up as targets of canned hunts.
The organisation urges tourists to rather only visit tourist attractions which allow wild animals to freely roam in their natural environment.
"Do not visit any tourist attractions that allow visitors to have direct contact with any lion cubs, young adults or breed lions for commercial purposes. If you love lions, see them in the wild," the report says.
