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Half a century ago, Belgian Zoologist Bernard Heuvelmans first codified cryptozoology in his book On the Track of Unknown Animals.

The Centre for Fortean Zoology (CFZ) are still on the track, and have been since 1992. But as if chasing unknown animals wasn't enough, we are involved in education, conservation, and good old-fashioned natural history! We already have three journals, the largest cryptozoological publishing house in the world, CFZtv, and the largest cryptozoological conference in the English-speaking world, but in January 2009 someone suggested that we started a daily online magazine! The CFZ bloggo is a collaborative effort by a coalition of members, friends, and supporters of the CFZ, and covers all the subjects with which we deal, with a smattering of music, high strangeness and surreal humour to make up the mix.

It is edited by CFZ Director Jon Downes, and subbed by the lovely Lizzy Bitakara'mire (formerly Clancy), scourge of improper syntax. The daily newsblog is edited by Corinna Downes, head administratrix of the CFZ, and the indexing is done by Lee Canty and Kathy Imbriani. There is regular news from the CFZ Mystery Cat study group, and regular fortean bird news from 'The Watcher of the Skies'. Regular bloggers include Dr Karl Shuker, Dale Drinnon, Richard Muirhead and Richard Freeman.The CFZ bloggo is updated daily, and there's nothing quite like it anywhere else. Come and join us...

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Saturday, March 15, 2014

END CANNED HUNTING


March 2014: Tomorrow (15 March) the so-called sport of shooting tame, trapped lions will be in the spotlight. An unprecedented 55 marches across the world will simultaneously call for it to be banned in South Africa.
Called The Global March for Lions this world event will begin with a screening of a global prayer, led by Archbishop Tutu and his daughter Reverend Mpho Tutu at each venue, including one in London.
The London march has been co-organised by LionAid and photographer Paul Tully, and starts at 3pm at various locations. Eight separate marches will then arrive at the South African Embassy in Trafalgar Square, at 4pm, for speeches. 
Philip Mansbridge, CEO of Care for the Wild, said: “Trophy hunting of any kind is deplorable, but Canned Hunting is particularly pathetic and vile. There is no skill, bravery or honour in any animal killing, least of all when they’re practically tame and trapped in an enclosed area.
“No wonder Canned Hunting is known as South Africa’s Dirty Little Secret. Lionesses are forced into an abnormal number of pregnancies to produce cubs. Then the cubs are raised, often by naïve overseas volunteers, in farms where tourists can come and have their photos taken with the animals, thinking that they are doing their bit for conservation.
“Finally, when the cubs are too old to pet, they are taken off to an enclosed location where they wait for their turn to be shot by some hero. And of course, the hero will want the head as a trophy, so the lion gets shot in the body, probably dying a slow and painful death.”
There is no legal definition for canned hunting but generally lions get bred in captivity, hand-reared for use in the cub petting industry. Then when these tame lions are big enough, they are shot in an enclosure often drugged, for an enormous sum of money.
The target animal is unfairly prevented from escaping the hunter, either by physical constraints (fencing) or by mental constraints.
White lions are particularly targeted because of their rarity. Linda Tucker, CEO of the Global White Lion Protection Trust said: “The lion crisis impacts on all of nature. If we don’t as a matter of dire urgency restore the rights of pride and dignity to the King of Kings, other magnificent wild beasts which have flourished for hundreds of thousands of years – like the Rhino – will ultimately be treated as a commodity, removed from their wild systems and bred in captivity to be killed for short-term gain.”
To make it worse bones from the dead lions are then sold into the Asian medicine trade, which then leads to increased demand and more wild lion poaching.
Wild populations of lions are in deep trouble, already extinct in around 25 African countries with the West African lion being dangerously close to complete extinction.

The march has two aims; to ban canned hunting in South Africa and to pressurize national governments to stop the importation of lion parts.
The marches will be taking place at  cities all over the world on march 15 (click here to find more information and your nearest)  

1 comment:

Mike Newton said...

This pay-as-you-go "sport" for rich, lazy sadists should be banned worldwide. At present, it is also popular among Republlican lawmakers in several U.S. states.