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The birth of the world’s first ‘test tube’ lions in August at Ukutula Lodge and Game Reserve in South Africa, has sparked heated debate within the conservation community around whether breeding via artificial insemination (AI) is a proactive step toward protecting Africa’s wildlife species – which are some of the biggest drawcards for tourists to Africa – or comes in the guise of conservation with the ulterior motive of feeding the canned wildlife and trophy-hunting sectors.
The recent birth of the two lion cubs was received with criticism from 19 lion conservation and research organisations, who penned a collective letter to the University of Pretoria (UP) – which worked in partnership with Ukutula Lodge and Conservation Centre (UCC) – which stated: “Based on our cumulative knowledge and experience, we do not support the captive breeding of lions, whether assisted or not, because it does not contribute to biodiversity conservation or address the main threats to wild lion conservation. Furthermore, the captive lion breeding industry in South Africa is associated with the exploitation of lions through interaction activities (lion cub petting and lion walks), canned trophy hunting of lions (the trophy hunting of tame lions in enclosed spaces) and the lion skeleton trade.”
Veterinary PhD at UP, Dr. Isabel Callealta, said in the initial announcement: “The success of the AI births of the lion cubs not only celebrates a world-first achievement, but has laid the foundation for effective non-surgical AI protocols for this species, using both fresh and frozen-thawed sperm. The research will hopefully mean we can start working towards carrying out similar procedures on some of the much rarer big cats, like the snow leopard and the tiger, in the future.”
In March 2018, the last remaining male Northern White rhino died, following which genetic material was collected in the hope of preserving the subspecies through in-vitro fertilisation – a further benefit of AI breeding.
We’d like to hear your thoughts on ‘test tube’ breeding, and whether you feel it is a tool for conservation or a method to build species numbers to benefit the canned wildlife and hunting sectors.
Source: tourismupdate.co.za