Cuddle Me, Kill Me: A True Account of South Africa's Captive Lion Breeding and Canned Hunting Industry, by Richard Peirce

Cuddle Me, Kill Me: A True Account of South Africa's Captive Lion Breeding and Canned Hunting Industry, by Richard Peirce. Penguin Random House South Africa, Struik Nature. Cape Town, South Africa 2018. ISBN 9781775845935 / ISBN 978-1-77-584593-5

Cuddle Me, Kill Me: A True Account of South Africa's Captive Lion Breeding and Canned Hunting Industry, by Richard Peirce, who reveals horrifying facts about the industry.

Richard Peirce  

Foreword by Chris Mercer

Campaign Against Canned Hunting (CACH)

This book, Cuddle Me, Kill Me: A True Account of South Africa's Captive Lion Breeding and Canned Hunting Industry, ought to be compulsory reading for all players in the tourism industry. Wildlife author Richard Peirce has done his homework. He and his photographer wife Jacqui have travelled around South Africa visiting facilities that pose as 'wildlife sanctuaries', only to find that, almost without exception, these are sordid lion farms, breeding living targets for canned lion hunting. The lion farmers are astute and hide their cruel and squalid enterprises behind an elaborate veil of public relations. Reading their websites, one would think that they are God's answer to all the problems relating to lion conservation. Fine-sounding but meaningless mantras are scattered across the web pages: 'every tame lion hunted is a wild lion saved'; 'our tame lions will be released back to the wild'; 'we love our lions' - these are the lies that hide the cruelty and the greed. The people at whom these self-serving claims are aimed are largely gullible, well-meaning, naive volunteers from the developed world. Seduced by slick public relations, they throw their savings at lion farms in order to be allowed to play with lion cubs. They are unaware that they are collectively contributing millions of dollars annually to canned lion hunting, and are also putting South African locals out of work. Voluntourism is necessary to support genuine sanctuaries, but it is an abomination when used to generate profits for commercial lion breeders. This book strips away the lies, exposing the ugly truth. No potential volunteer who reads this book will visit a lion-breeding centre. Fraudulent voluntourism, supported by the South African government, can only thrive where misinformation goes unchallenged. This book should become every volunteer's bible. Like Carmen Berdan's invaluable website 'Volunteers in Africa Beware', Cuddle Me Kill Me empowers volunteers. The author is to be congratulated for producing such an important resource.

Foreword by Ian Michler

The predator-breeding and canned-hunting fiasco of the last two decades has placed a dark and embarrassing cloud over South Africa's wildlife management history. These practices alone are unacceptable, particularly in a society that prides itself on being progressive. But when greedy tourism operators join forces with breeders and hunters, using fraudulent marketing messages to sell interactive animal experiences, it is a shocking and shameful reflection on those involved. This also pertains to the authorities that continue to sanction the brutality towards lions and other wild species. In the process, we have confused the conservation priorities and undermined the great work being done by the recognised conservation community - which, along with responsible tourism operators, has warned that predator facilities have little to no merit. Despite this, a deadly combination of ignorance, significant revenue streams and a perverted interpretation of sustainable use continue to keep the operators in business. This gives us insight into the challenges we face to end these practices. In light of this, the appearance of Cuddle Me Kill Me by Richard Peirce, well-known author and conservationist, is all the more relevant and timely. Richard has authored a number of books in a similar vein, all well received for their compelling stories and powerful conservation messages. [...]

This is an excerpt from Cuddle Me, Kill Me: A True Account of South Africa's Captive Lion Breeding and Canned Hunting Industry, by Richard Peirce.

Title: Cuddle Me, Kill Me
Subtitle: A True Account of South Africa's Captive Lion Breeding and Canned Hunting Industry
Author: Richard Peirce
Publisher: Penguin Random House South Africa
Imprint: Struik Nature
Cape Town, South Africa 2018
ISBN 9781775845935 / ISBN 978-1-77-584593-5
Softcover, 15 x 19 cm, 200 pages, several colour photos