Poor Welfare Indicators and Husbandry Practices at Lion (<i>Panthera Leo</i>) “Cub-Petting” Facilities: Evidence from Public YouTube Videos
There is growing concern about captive lion hunting and breeding operations in South Africa, including cub-petting tourism. For the first time, we assess the quality of cub-petting facilities and code the stress behaviors of lion cubs when handled by tourists by analyzing four stress-related behavio...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/20/2767 |
| _version_ | 1797475981398638592 |
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| author | Saryn Chorney Alyssa DeFalco Jennifer Jacquet Claire LaFrance Melanie Lary Hildegard Pirker Becca Franks |
| author_facet | Saryn Chorney Alyssa DeFalco Jennifer Jacquet Claire LaFrance Melanie Lary Hildegard Pirker Becca Franks |
| author_sort | Saryn Chorney |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | There is growing concern about captive lion hunting and breeding operations in South Africa, including cub-petting tourism. For the first time, we assess the quality of cub-petting facilities and code the stress behaviors of lion cubs when handled by tourists by analyzing four stress-related behaviors and six indicators of poor husbandry in 49 YouTube videos of tourist–lion cub interactions (from at least 11 South African safari parks, 2008-2019). We also categorized videos as regular tourism vs. voluntourism (tourism under the guise of helping those in need). We found a median of four poor husbandry practices per video, with all but two videos involving very young cubs (under 7 months) and the majority (61%) involving cubs estimated under 3 months old. Two videos claimed to show cubs as young as 9 days old and 1 day old, with their eyes still closed. The lion mother was apparent in only 1 of 49 videos. All but one of the interactions took place during the day, although young cubs are primarily active at night. The majority of videos (77%) showed cubs engaging in at least one stress behavior, and the most common stress behaviors were avoidance and aggression. Comparing voluntourism to regular tourism, we found no difference in instances of poor husbandry or observable stress behaviors (p’s > 0.6). These results show that cub-petting operations are characterized by poor cub welfare, including features that are inherently harmful to cub development (e.g., separation from the mother at an early age and forced activity outside normal waking hours). Existing research suggests that many tourists are likely unaware of these negative impacts and may even believe that they are helping the cubs. This analysis provides evidence to the contrary. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:51:24Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-42779dbbdb594053afb67ef3a103c2b5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:51:24Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-42779dbbdb594053afb67ef3a103c2b52023-11-23T22:31:30ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152022-10-011220276710.3390/ani12202767Poor Welfare Indicators and Husbandry Practices at Lion (<i>Panthera Leo</i>) “Cub-Petting” Facilities: Evidence from Public YouTube VideosSaryn Chorney0Alyssa DeFalco1Jennifer Jacquet2Claire LaFrance3Melanie Lary4Hildegard Pirker5Becca Franks6Department of Environmental Studies, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USADepartment of Environmental Studies, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USADepartment of Environmental Studies, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USAFOUR PAWS International, Head of Communications, Research and Campaigns Officer, Four Paws International, 36 Bromfield St, #410, Boston, MA 02108, USAFOUR PAWS International, Head of Communications, Research and Campaigns Officer, Four Paws International, 36 Bromfield St, #410, Boston, MA 02108, USALIONSROCK, Head of Animal Welfare Department, Sustainable Sanctuaries, LIONSROCK Big Cat Sanctuary, P.O. Box 1416, Bethlehem 9700, South AfricaDepartment of Environmental Studies, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USAThere is growing concern about captive lion hunting and breeding operations in South Africa, including cub-petting tourism. For the first time, we assess the quality of cub-petting facilities and code the stress behaviors of lion cubs when handled by tourists by analyzing four stress-related behaviors and six indicators of poor husbandry in 49 YouTube videos of tourist–lion cub interactions (from at least 11 South African safari parks, 2008-2019). We also categorized videos as regular tourism vs. voluntourism (tourism under the guise of helping those in need). We found a median of four poor husbandry practices per video, with all but two videos involving very young cubs (under 7 months) and the majority (61%) involving cubs estimated under 3 months old. Two videos claimed to show cubs as young as 9 days old and 1 day old, with their eyes still closed. The lion mother was apparent in only 1 of 49 videos. All but one of the interactions took place during the day, although young cubs are primarily active at night. The majority of videos (77%) showed cubs engaging in at least one stress behavior, and the most common stress behaviors were avoidance and aggression. Comparing voluntourism to regular tourism, we found no difference in instances of poor husbandry or observable stress behaviors (p’s > 0.6). These results show that cub-petting operations are characterized by poor cub welfare, including features that are inherently harmful to cub development (e.g., separation from the mother at an early age and forced activity outside normal waking hours). Existing research suggests that many tourists are likely unaware of these negative impacts and may even believe that they are helping the cubs. This analysis provides evidence to the contrary.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/20/2767lion protectioncompassionate conservationwildlife tourismanimal welfarehuman–animal interactionssocial media |
| spellingShingle | Saryn Chorney Alyssa DeFalco Jennifer Jacquet Claire LaFrance Melanie Lary Hildegard Pirker Becca Franks Poor Welfare Indicators and Husbandry Practices at Lion (<i>Panthera Leo</i>) “Cub-Petting” Facilities: Evidence from Public YouTube Videos Animals lion protection compassionate conservation wildlife tourism animal welfare human–animal interactions social media |
| title | Poor Welfare Indicators and Husbandry Practices at Lion (<i>Panthera Leo</i>) “Cub-Petting” Facilities: Evidence from Public YouTube Videos |
| title_full | Poor Welfare Indicators and Husbandry Practices at Lion (<i>Panthera Leo</i>) “Cub-Petting” Facilities: Evidence from Public YouTube Videos |
| title_fullStr | Poor Welfare Indicators and Husbandry Practices at Lion (<i>Panthera Leo</i>) “Cub-Petting” Facilities: Evidence from Public YouTube Videos |
| title_full_unstemmed | Poor Welfare Indicators and Husbandry Practices at Lion (<i>Panthera Leo</i>) “Cub-Petting” Facilities: Evidence from Public YouTube Videos |
| title_short | Poor Welfare Indicators and Husbandry Practices at Lion (<i>Panthera Leo</i>) “Cub-Petting” Facilities: Evidence from Public YouTube Videos |
| title_sort | poor welfare indicators and husbandry practices at lion i panthera leo i cub petting facilities evidence from public youtube videos |
| topic | lion protection compassionate conservation wildlife tourism animal welfare human–animal interactions social media |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/20/2767 |
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