Petition addressed to:
Nature Government Namibia
Harnas Wildlife Foundation is a non-governmental organization stationed in Namibia, which takes care of orphaned and injured african wildlife. Most of the animals are brought to the farm by farmers who found them orphaned or injured. The same happened to the five lion brothers Arnold, Alex, Delarey, Davet and Robbie, who were dropped off on the farm when they were only a few weeks old.
There are very strict guidelines for keeping lions in Namibia in order to prevent breeding for trophy hunting, and disobeying them can imply very high fees or even prison. Because Marietta Van Der Merwe new the consequences she attempted multiple times to get the permits for the five brothers and some other lions, yet always failed to get this case through. That is why the babies were hand-raised in secret, knowing that if they were found, nature conservation would confiscate the animals. Ironically, as property of the government these lions are likely to be sold for trophy hunting or shot right away. The most important thing for the 72year old owner was always the safety of the lions, without intentions of breaking the law.
The brothers have been living on Harnas for five years now and have grown into handsome male lions. They are treated with love, respect and people take good care of them:
They get a big portion of meat every day, so they don't have to fend for themselves, the m2 enclosure shared by the five brothers ensures a species-appropriate life for the wild animals. The five usually all move together in forays through the enclosure and live in a complex hierarchy – there are sometimes fights for dominance over food or ranking, but of course cuddling and stroking among each other should not be missing. Since the lions arrived, Harnas paid for all of the food, enclosure maintenance and medical assistance that is needed for 5 of africas biggest predators. Still, the joy & knowledge that is brought to Marietta, the Staff & volunteers by watching them in a safe, natural environment definitely outweighs the financial burden.
Unfortunately it is not possible to release lions back into the wild because they are used to human contact and there is a high probability that they would run to a farm and be shot there.
The danger
Two years ago, the Nature Government found out about the five lions and wants to take them away from the farm, although attempts were often made to get the permits for the five.
Nobody knows exactly what will happen to them once they are gone from the farm. But it is very likely that they either get killed or, since they are very magnificent specimens, sold for a lot of money (eventually for trophy hunting), presumably separated from each other in a surrounding where noone will value their lifes.
What can we do?
Reason
Lions are part of the endangered species. Dr. Craig Packer, one of the world’s pre-eminent lion experts, has estimated that “80 percent of the lions left in the world are in the hunters’ hands”. So it is of paramount importance to protect the life of every lion and on Harnas Wildlife Foundation they live in absolute safety. To prove that, we are looking for witnesses who have already been on Harnas and people who care about the topic and want to get involved. Anyone who has never heard of Harnas can take a look at the series "Das Waisenhaus für wilde Tiere" and get an idea of how the animals are treated.
One thing is for sure: Marietta van der Merwe, the owner of the farm loves these lions as if they were her own children and would even face prison to protect them if necessary. She fights just like a lioness herself would to protect her loved ones. In order to support her, the volunteers that come to Harnas every year created this petition to collect signatures with the aim to prove that Harnas has solely good intentions about keeping the lions on the farm, where they can live a species-appropriate life and educate everyone that encounters them.
Please SIGN and SHARE this petition to support Harnas Wildlife Foundation and save the five lions!!!
