Evil poachers butcher pride of lions to use body parts in black magic potions

Evil poachers butchered a majestic pride of lions so their body parts could be used to make black magic potions. The sickening act of cruelty happened last Thursday at the 3,800-hectare Rietvlei Nature Reserve in Pretoria, South Africa.

In April last year Gert Claasen, 48, had three lions butchered for body parts and three more killed and stolen to be butchered later from his reserve in Petrus Steyn in Free State Province.

In May last year at the Jugomara Predator Park in Limpopo Province distraught owner Justin Fernandes, 32, had three lions and a rare white tiger hacked to bits for their body parts.

And in July last year Christa Sayman, 55, lost six lions to poachers who hacked off the heads and paw of four fully grown lions for black magic potions and killed two other lion cubs.

A complete lion skeleton can be bought in South Africa for £1,000 but in Vietnam it is worth £50,000 and the individual claws and teeth of a lion are highly prized and fetch top prices.

A traditional healer from Limpopo who would not give her name said: “The lion body parts are used to make strong muti which is a witchcraft potion made by healers to cast spells.

“These can be used to protect a person from illness or cure them or make them strong or virile or even used to scare enemies away or prevent them from being attacked."

Dr Kelly Marnewick of the Endangered Wildlife Trust keeps a close track on lions mutilated and poached or killed on private breeding farms and sanctuaries throughout South Africa.

She said: ”It is mostly the claws, heads, and teeth of the lions the poachers are after and in 2017 there were 22 captive lions killed and this is something that we are watching closely.”

It is feared lion bones are now becoming sought after to replace the far rarer tiger bones in demand in South East Asia which are being smuggled out for use in traditional medicines.