While the Lion and Safari Park announced last week that it would discontinue its lion interactions when it moves to a new location north of Lanseria in six weeks’ time, the park was actively marketing its cheetah walks at this year’s Indaba show.

Scott Simpson, Operations at the Lion and safari Park, told Tourism Update the lion walk and cub interaction were being discontinued because the activities had become contentious and public opinion was against the activities.

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Recently, the documentary Blood Lions has highlighted the link between lion interaction and the canned lion hunting industry, while leading safari operators including Wilderness Safaris, Jenman Safaris, and Great Plains, have committed to not support operators that contribute to the cycle of captive predator breeding, such as petting facilities.

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Last year, the park was accused of selling lions to people associated with hunting operations, but denied these allegations. According to Simpson, the park has sought to refine its business, taking steps such as stopping the sale of lions five years ago. He also says that the park only donates lions to facilities it has inspected and also follows up on the welfare of lions that it has donated.

Simpson said that cheetah walks were different to lion walks in that adult cheetahs could be used for the walks. He explained that the lions at the park would usually be petted as cubs until they are six months old and take part in walks from six to 12 months. He said the park had six cheetahs that would be used for the walks and it would not be breeding cheetahs for the activity.

The park’s roughly 65 lions will be relocated to the new facility, which is 600 hectares. They will be in enclosures of roughly 20 hectares in size, said Simpson.