The lion bone trade and the precautionary principle

Conservation activist Don Pinnock argued in an opinion piece published in the Daily Maverick¹ that the application of the precautionary principle required for the trade in lion bone to be outlawed. He based this on the claim that lion bones could be infected with tuberculosis and thus be harmful to human beings if eaten. He went on to claim that farmers who raise lions in order to trade in their bones created further health risks by supplying local communities with sedative-laced lion meat.

I do not know if his claims are true but there can be no doubt that both practices are potentially dangerous and should be prohibited, not just in the case of lions but in respect of any animal sold for human consumption.

But that isn't really the point of this article. I am much more interested in what is meant by the precautionary principle, whether it is part of South African law and whether Pinnock is correct in saying that the application of this principle justifies banning the trade in lion bone.

I should make it clear that I express no opinion on how  the lion bone trade is conducted or whether other grounds exist