South Africa's lion bone trade: unstudied export fuels laundering, wild-lion pressure

South Africa has exported thousands of captive-bred lion skeletons to Asian markets without assessing whether the trade drives demand, enables laundering of wild bones, or increases pressure on wild lion populations. The omission, reported by Daily Maverick, highlights a governance gap in wildlife trade oversight. The claim is based on investigative reporting, with no official study confirming or denying these risks.