Four women arrested with lion body parts

Police in Limpopo have arrested four women for possession of lion body parts‚ including paws and a head.

Provincial spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Moatshe Ngoepe said the four women‚ between the ages of 29 and 48‚ were arrested on Wednesday during an intelligence-driven joint operation outside Burgersfort in Limpopo.

Ngoepe said between the four women‚ police confiscated two lion heads‚ eight lion paws and two lion skins.

He said the four women would appear before the Burgersfort Magistrate's Court soon on charges relating to the unlawful possession of animal parts.

Ngoepe said the women came from different parts in the province‚ including from Phalaborwa and Lebowakgomo south of Polokwane.

This is not the first time Limpopo police have made inroads into the poaching of lions for lion parts.

The Times reported on cases of lion poaching in January and February‚ with Pieter van Zyl‚ a game farmer and member of the SA Predator Association‚ saying there were concerns in the industry over the upsurge in lion poaching.

"It is a huge problem. There is quite a big demand for lion products outside of South Africa‚" Van Zyl told The Times in January.

-TMG Digital/TimesLIVE