Thailand: the number of domestic lions explodes: “pure madness”

Behind his garage in an anonymous street in a city in northern Thailand, Tharnuwarht Plengkemratch installed his darling pets: two white lionesses, and a 200 kilos lion-tiger hybrid called “Big George”.

In Thailand, the law authorizes individuals to have the “king of animals” in them.

Since Chiang Mai, Tharnuwarht has shared on Tiktok, where he has about three million subscribers, the daily life of his three big felines, who “like to play and are affectionate, like dogs and cats”, he describes.

“I want to show people that Lions can get along with humans,” he said, although his careful interactions in the “Big George” enclosure remain limited to a few minutes.

The population of Lions in captivity has exploded in recent years in the Kingdom of Southeast Asia, with more than 500 individuals identified in zoos, farm, animal coffees and private houses.

The phenomenon endangers lions and their human entourage, alerted the specialists, against the backdrop of illegal animals.

Social networks, where to share content with the majestic feline always produces its effect, have aggravated the trend, underlines Tom Taylor, a Foundation for Friends of wild fauna in Thailand (WFFT). “It’s pure madness,” he said. “It is terrifying to imagine, if the laws are not changed, which the situation will become in ten years.”

Since 2022, the law has required owners that they have recorded their company lions, have implanted a micropuce and inform the authorities in the event of a change of residence.

But the text does not define any control over reproduction, nor on hybrids, and requirements regarding the conservation conditions in enclosure remain minimal.

Births of species present in the wild in Thailand, like the tiger, must be reported within 24 hours. For a lion, its owner has 60 days.

“It’s a huge window,” says Taylor. “What can be done with a range of lion cubs during these 60 days?” Lots of things. “

This expert and his colleagues found the recent tripling of the number of captivity lions, from around 130 in 2018 to around 450 in 2024, based on social networks and in situ visits.

But, for lack of proof of life for a year, 350 other felines have disappeared from their radars, perhaps because of unremonated death, because the animal is no longer exposed to the public, or, “worse”, because of illegal trade, according to Mr. Taylor.

“We questioned professionals who gave us the prices for lions alive or dead, and told us that they could recover them at the border,” he explains.

There are many evidence on the trafficking of Lions or its parties, several experts told AFP, who requested anonymity, for fear of being noticed by the authorities. In addition to Thailand, the phenomenon also affects Laos and Cambodia.

Thai breeder Pathamawadee Janpithak, 32, started in the trading of Crocodile, before the fall in prices linked to the reptile pushes her to the lion.

It sells lion cubs aged one month for around 500,000 baht (12,000 francs). After a peak at 800,000 baht (20,000 francs), the market has readjusted according to the offer made more abundant by the development of reproductive sites.

Lions in captivity, which devour two kilos of chicken carcasses per day, can have two to six lion cubs, once or twice a year.

The three installations that Pathamawadee controls in Chachoengsao (center) shelter approximately 80 individuals, ranging from an imposing nine -year lion to a pair of 8 -day sick lions, fed at the bottle 24 hours a day.

They have a white coat due to a genetic mutation. White lions, which are sometimes wrongly considered as a “endangered” subspecies, are popular in Thailand.

But their low number increases the chances of consanguinity and diseases.

Pathamawadee sighs on the case of a one -month white lion cub, sick since his birth, who has not attracted any buyer, and whose genetic heritage is too poor for reproduction.

It is also increasingly difficult to find buyers arranged to respect the law, she deplores.

“Before, people could pay and leave with a lion. Today, everything has become more complicated, ”she describes.

She says she sells about half of the 90 babies born each year on her farm, often to other breeders, more and more inclined to open “lions cafes” where customers can pose and cuddle the feline.

Near Chiang Mai, a trainer woke up a lion cub of his nap so that he could play with an enthusiastic Chinese tourist group.

Coffee authorized AFP to film interaction but, like all other similar businesses contacted, has declined a maintenance request.

Pathamawadee no longer sells to cafes, which tend to get rid of the little ones in a few weeks, after they grew well. She has recovered traumatized lion cubs, which have become unfit for reproduction, she says.

The increase in the Lions population is a problem for the Thai agency for managing national parks and the conservation of wild fauna and flora (DNP), admits Sadudee Punpugdee, director in charge of the protection of wildlife.

Current measures aim in particular to limit the import of Lions, so that breeders focus on the existing population.

“With the increase in consanguinity, the quality of the Lions decreases, and we think that demand will decrease accordingly,” he said.

But the authorities already overhanged are brought to the front of corneal choice on the application of the rules, especially since the confiscated animals fall under their responsibility, describes Penthai Siriwat, of WWF Thailand.

“There are many deliberations before the intervention, given the substantial costs,” she explains.

The owners like Tharnuwarht often evoke their concern for conservation, but these African Lions in captivity of Thailand will never live in the wild.

Khanom and Khanun, two years each, live in a sanctuary managed by the DNP, in Suphanburi (center), after being confiscated.

They can live at least ten more years, and require specialized guards, food and care.

“The psychological and physical well-being of animals must always pass first,” explains the chief veterinarian of the site, Natanon Panpeth.

The United States and the United Arab Emirates have prohibited the possession of large felines in recent years, and Thailand must soon re-examine its legislation.

SadUDEE hopes for a strengthening of existing laws, even if it is unlikely that property will be prohibited for the moment.

“Wild animals belong to nature. There are many other animals that can be had as a pet, ”he says.