I had always imagined that the lions who met such an end had at least led their lives wild - in the wide open spaces of the African bush.
I was wrong.
Big game hunting in South Africa is an industry. The vast majority of lions in South Africa live in captivity - bred to supply that industry with trophies.
I went to visit a lion farm. The animals - usually one male and two females - live in large pens. I guessed that the largest enclosure was no more than 80 metres long. The lions I saw were used for breeding.
The cubs are taken and when they grow big enough they become the prey in hunts where a ‘kill’ is guaranteed.
Cabinet approves end to captive breeding of lions and rhinos
Hunters pay big money - as much as $25,000 (nearly £20,000) - to shoot a large black-maned male. The lion breeders use farming terminology to describe this process. They call it ‘the harvest’.
This entirely legal business has flourished for decades. But after years of international opprobrium, and growing domestic protest, the South African government has agreed that the breeding of lions for sport must come to an end.
It proposes a system of voluntary closures - a collaborative approach. It says it has proposed ‘multiple options’ to assist and incentivise lion farmers.
But there is no sign yet of the very large compensation payments the farmers would demand for closing businesses which they have spent their lives building up. One lion breeder told me he would take legal action to defend his livelihood.
Anti-hunting campaigners in South Africa say that big game hunting is a dark stain on South Africa’s hard won reputation for conservation and good eco-tourism.
