FROM PETTING ZOOS TO THE "CANNED HUNT": "60 MINUTES" EXPOSES THE SAD FATE OF LIONS THAT TOURISTS DON'T KNOW THEY ARE HELPING TO SEND TO THEIR DEATHS - SUNDAY ON CBS

The "Lion Whisperer" Who Saved 26 Lions Raises Awareness for the Cruel Business

Thousands of tourists, Americans among them, pay to pet young lions in South African animal parks each year. What they don't know is the demand they create for the cuddly, cute animals often leads to their cruel deaths in "canned hunts," where the parks send them once they become too mature to be trusted around humans. Clarissa Ward exposes this cruel business, confronting a lion park owner who admits it and profiling a former staffer, whose efforts to raise awareness for the big cats includes saving 26 lions with which he shares a special bond. Her report will be broadcast on 60 MINUTES on Sunday, Nov. 30 (7:30-8:30 PM, ET/7:00-8:00 PM, PT) on the CBS Television Network.

The businesses breed the lions to have a steady supply of cubs for their customers to pet. But once they mature, they become too dangerous to be around the tourists. These "lion parks" say that the mature cats are given "good homes" to retire to. Kevin Richardson, who once worked in one, knows better. "The question I have is, where are these good homes? Maybe even some of my cats could go to these good homes. The reality is there aren't any," he says.

Richardson was able to save 26 lions with the help of friends and investors. He keeps them on a sanctuary where he has forged unusual bonds with them, playing with them as if they were housecats. Only these cats are upwards of 400 pounds. 60 MINUTES cameras capture what seems to be a friendship. "They do seem to be attached [to me] in a way," he tells Ward. "Because when you go away, they do miss you... lovingly greet you when you come back... a truly social cat." Watch an excerpt.

They are especially social when young, making them prime petting material for smiling tourists and their cameras. But once they reach maturity, they become a burden to the zoos. "Virtually all the cubs that are petted in this country are going to be shot sooner or later," says Chris Mercer, another advocate for the lions. "We know there is no other market for adult lions other than the hunting industry. Lions eat meat. Meat is expensive," says Mercer.

The "hunting" operations that buy them put the animals in an area for the hunters to drive into and shoot them. Raised in captivity, they usually do not run. "There's no skill at all... your canned lion hunter is really a collector," says Mercer of the practice of taking the lion home as a trophy.

In an interview, Richardson's former boss, Rodney Fuhr, admits many of his lions have ended up at hunting facilities. He now says he will stop that, but still defends the practice by saying it creates jobs for people.

Mercer says in the end, it's just as much the fault of the tourists. "Whenever you pet a lion cub, you are directly enriching the canned lion hunting industry," he tells Ward.