It is All About Money Not Conservation

There is no legitimate conservation program where big cats are captive born and returned to the wild. It would be ridiculous to think that people could bottle raise lions for release back to the wild because it takes the mother years to teach her cubs how to be lions and because the cubs would have no fear of walking right up to a human after being released. Forget all of the sappy Born Free and Christian the lion stories. The fact is that both disappeared and were thought to have been killed very young and in both cases it was most likely due to the fact that they were raised by humans.

Most of the lions raised on African parks like this end up being sent to canned hunts where hunters can shoot them in a cage or fenced area for a fee. Hand raising them makes it easier for the hunter to get close enough to shoot them. Don’t be a part of the problem and never support any facility that would let you touch a big cat or their babies. The following story is just typical of the pitch the bad guys make to fool innocent animal lovers into doing their dirty work for them.

LIVE WITH KYLIE MINOGUE’S LION CUB IN SOUTH AFRICA

Getting a cuddle from Kylie Minogue has never been easier, thanks to volunteer travel specialist i-to-i.

Kylie fans and lion lovers alike can spend up to four weeks volunteering in South Africa, looking after “Kylie cub” – the baby lion made famous after being adopted by the Pop Princess last week.

Based at the very same lion park near Johannesburg, travellers can tread in Kylie’s footsteps at the Live with Lion Cubs in South Africa project for between two and four weeks.

Priced from $2959 per person, this once-in-a-lifetime experience includes airport pickup, chalet accommodation, all meals prepared daily, in-country support and 24/7 emergency support.

Volunteers will help to raise the cubs – bottle feeding and caring for them – along with making sure that all the other wildlife and facilities at the reserve are looked after and maintained.

The centre is currently home to over 50 lions and is heavily involved in lion research, breeding and conservation.