Cub petting in South Africa is a very popular experience for many tourists but what a lot of them do not know is that these cubs end up as fodder for the canned hunting fraternity. Once the cute and cuddly cubs are too big or hard to manage their fate is sealed. There is absolutely no value in supporting those establishments that make money charging tourists huge fees to pet a lion cub, it is simply exploitation of wildlife at it's worst. These magnificent animals belong in the wild and deserve to be treated with respect not abused for human entertainment and then passed along the line as a potential trophy for the sporting shooters who then pay huge dollars to shoot them. Morally the whole business is wrong on every level and everything needs to be done to stop what is actually helping to destroy lions. Saying no to any contact with wild animals is something you can do if you are going to Africa and are tempted to get up close and personal with a cub. If you don't you are supporting this awful ultimately cruel industry.

Social media plays a huge part in facilitating the illegal exotic pet trade. Thankfully authorities are starting to monitor some of these to crack down on this growing trend especially among some of the wealthy who flaunt their possessions online. The status symbols of their obscene wealth include mansions, fast cars and illegally obtained exotic animals. Cheetahs in particular are popular especially cubs because they are regarded as more docile and easy to tame. It should be noted that a staggering 85% of these defenceless cubs taken from the wild and their mothers die in transit. These beautiful cats are also an endangered species having disappeared from the majority of countries they once thrived in. How can wildlife survive when the threats to their existence just keep on coming from every quarter. All wild animals belong in the wild not being paraded around like a dog entertaining wealthy people with more money than decency, heart or concern for the welfare of these vulnerable animals.