As 23 lion carcasses turned to ash, SA’s commitment to end captive breeding hangs in balance
Daily Maverick | 15.12.2025 04:56
At 10am on Wednesday, 10 December, an incinerator somewhere in Gauteng came alive with a roar, superheated flames instantly melting the plastic bags around the bones of 42 lions. It was dramatic, symbolic and garishly real. Ribs, leg bones and snarling skulls blackened in the intense heat as the doors of the hellish cauldron slid shut, having given observers a brief glimpse of the blaze that would reduce nearly half a tonne of lion remains to ash.
