Lion Spy exposes big game hunting in new documentary

BY RENEE DALLOW

With rhino’s on the verge of extinction and a similar fate about to befall the 20,000 lions left in Africa, Australian filmmaker, Rogue Rubin, decided that urgent action needed to be taken.

“How could I ignore this? There is one defining loyalty in everyone’s lives and this was mine,” said Rogue.

Disguised as a pro big game hunter and videographer, Rogue set out to expose the secrets and lies of game hunters presenting themselves as legitimate managers of wildlife parks, dedicated to conservation. Many explain that all they are doing is culling the lion population for the good of all. Rogue was even invited to one of these lion farms and introduced to adorable baby lion cubs, bred and then sold, to be hunted.

Trophy hunters, she explained, come from all over the world to hunt. When they arrive at their safari headquarters they are treated to such exotic dishes as zebra fillet or even zebra lasagne for breakfast, as often these animals are used as practice targets before moving on to the main trophy kill – the king of the jungle, the lion. Many of these hunters, who come to South Africa, specifically for game hunting, are not even experienced marksmen and need to be trained up by the experts first. This means that many animals will die a slow and painful death.

Whilst on a hunt with a well known game hunter, Rogue is almost apologetic for, “loving the experience of living in the African bush and waking up at 5am to watch the sunrise.”

When finally the leader of the hunt trusted her enough to allow her to join the others, all men, she discovered that much of the shooting was done from a truck. There are many more revelations in Lion Spy and footage that is both shocking and deeply disturbing on so many levels. Yet this is a story that needs to be told and Rogue Rubin has risked her life in the telling of it. Produced by aptly titled, Pivot Pictures, Lion Spy is well worth a viewing.