South Africa has allowed the commercial captive breeding and trade of African lions (Panthera leo) and other large felids since the 1990s. However, publicly available information to quantify the extent and nature of this industry, as well as insight into the diversity of relevant provincial nature conservation statutes, are lacking. Our study reviewed the provincial regulations that govern the captive predator industry in South Africa and used the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) to obtain records held by the nine provincial departments regulating the captive breeding, keeping, and trade of large felids. The information obtained through the PAIA process was highly inconsistent across provincial borders, demonstrated the absence of standard operating procedures, and highlighted the convoluted and decentralised permitting systems. The research postulates that varying and sometimes conflicting provincial regulations can lead to further exploitation of legal loopholes and unregulated growth of the industry. In addition, provincial resources are inadequate for authorities to carry out their fundamental mandates of nature conservation. Although the PAIA process was challenging, the information received provided valuable insight into the unregulated nature of this industry and demonstrated major concerns in addressing the necessary challenges associated with animal welfare. Furthermore, with more than half of the PAIA requests either refused, rejected or ignored, the true magnitude and nature of South Africa’s commercial captive predator industry cannot be accurately quantified. The evidence from this study supports the notion of transitioning away from the commercial captive predator breeding industry, as intended by the South African government.

中文翻译：

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南非商业圈养捕食者行业不受监管的性质：使用 PAIA 过程获得的见解

 自 1990 年代以来，南非已允许非洲狮 (Panthera leo) 和其他大型猫科动物的商业圈养繁殖和贸易。然而，缺乏量化该行业范围和性质的公开信息，以及对相关省级自然保护法规多样性的洞察。我们的研究回顾了管理南非圈养捕食者行业的省级法规，并使用促进信息获取法 (PAIA) 获取了九个省级部门持有的监管大型猫科动物圈养繁殖、饲养和贸易的记录。通过 PAIA 过程获得的信息在省界之间高度不一致，表明缺乏标准的操作程序，并突出了复杂和分散的许可系统。该研究假设，不同的、有时相互冲突的省级法规可能会导致法律漏洞的进一步利用和行业不受监管的增长。此外，省级资源不足以让当局执行其自然保护的基本任务。尽管 PAIA 过程具有挑战性，但收到的信息提供了对该行业不受监管性质的宝贵见解，并表明在解决与动物福利相关的必要挑战方面的主要关切。此外，由于超过一半的跨学科行动重点领域请求被拒绝、拒绝或忽略，南非商业圈养捕食者行业的真实规模和性质无法准确量化。