A decade ago, with fewer than 5,000 leopards existing in South Africa, at least 800 of the country’s leopards were killed annually for their fur. These coveted coats are used in ceremonial regalia by cultural and religious groups that revere the species.
The adoption of Heritage Furs—high-quality, synthetic fur alternatives that retain the beauty and significance of authentic furs—allows these vibrant cultural and religious ceremonies to continue for many years into the future with the same beauty of the authentic furs but without the threat to wildlife populations.
Through Panthera’s Furs for Life program, over 22,000 Heritage Furs have been supplied to southern African communities consisting of over 7 million members. Celebrating its 12-year anniversary in 2025, Furs for Life continues to grow with new partners joining the effort annually. Learn more about the program’s history and our partners below.
Furs for Life’s original partner is the Nazareth Baptist Church eBuhleni, commonly known as the Shembe Church. After learning that Shembe followers were using as many as 15,000 leopard furs during religious gatherings, Panthera, in partnership with the leadership of the Shembe Church, initiated the Furs for Life program in 2013.
Working with the Shembe community and graphic designers, Panthera created high-quality and affordable synthetic leopard fur capes, known as Heritage Furs.
Supported by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund, Cartier for Nature Philanthropy, and the Royal Commission for AlUla, the program has distributed more than 19,500 capes to the Shembe Church, resulting in a 50 percent reduction in authentic leopard fur use.
Heritage Furs have prevented thousands of leopard deaths and have even resulted in some wild leopard populations stabilizing or increasing in the region, all while promoting a culturally sensitive conservation solution supported by Shembe leaders.
In 2019, Panthera and the Barotse Royal Establishment of the Lozi people joined forces to launch Saving Spots—a conservation initiative in western Zambia that is preserving rich cultural traditions while protecting declining wild cat populations.
Every year, hundreds of Lozi community members participate in traditional ceremonies, most notably the Kuomboka Festival, a massive gathering on the Barotse Floodplains to escort His Majesty the Lozi King, or Litunga, between palaces by Royal barge.
Traditionally, approximately 200 paddlers wear lipatelo, which are elaborate, full-length skirts made of leopard, serval and other animal furs, and lion-mane trimmed berets, known as mishukwe. At a recent gathering, more than 90 percent of participants wore synthetic Heritage Furs, replacing authentic leopard, serval and lion furs, and helping reduce illicit wild cat hunting across southern Africa.
Since 2019, with the launch of Saving Spots, the Barotse Royal Establishment has received over 750 Panthera-created synthetic leopard and serval fur lipatelo and 600 synthetic lion-mane mishukwe, which are replacing the use of authentic furs by paddlers and helping to reduce the hunting of hundreds of wild cats across southern Africa where the species are severely threatened.
The Heritage Furs were endorsed by His Majesty the Lozi King and His Royal Highness the late Senior Chief Inyambo Yeta and have received overwhelming support among the Lozi community, with the Litunga declaring that Heritage Furs would replace authentic wild cat skins at all future Lozi gatherings.
Beyond the Lozi community, the Saving Spots initiative, alongside rigorous counter-poaching operations and additional wildlife protection efforts, has contributed to encouraging increases, with leopard densities either stabilizing or showing strong increases in some areas of the Greater Kafue Ecosystem—trends moving in the right direction for the world’s most persecuted wild cat.
Through Saving Spots, Panthera also conducts an educational conservation outreach program in the region and a robust leopard monitoring program in Zambia, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
In 2024, the Savings Spots team won the Herman Goldstein Award for Excellence in Problem-Oriented Policing for their Saving Spots case study. View photos and read about this achievement on LinkedIn.
In 2024, Panthera partnered with the one-million-member African Congregational Church (ACC) in South Africa to replace the use of leopard skin hats in ceremonial regalia with synthetic Heritage Furs. A significant program goal is also to provide an alternative source of income for women reliant on tailoring illegally sourced wildlife products and increase their skills training, including business management, that will enable independent operation of tailoring micro-enterprises. As of March 2024, Panthera has provided 20 sewing machines and tables, equipment and training to 20 women from the ACC to tailor thousands of Heritage Fur hats and other garments, including school uniforms.
Building on the success of the Furs for Life program with the Shembe in South Africa and the Lozi of Western Zambia, the Ngoni of Eastern Zambia have joined this growing ethos to preserve their traditions and the wildlife that inspires them. In February 2025, the Ngoni Royal Establishment, through the Ncwala National Organising Committee, partnered with the Furs for Life program to adopt Heritage Furs.
Ngoni people are known for their rich culture and time-honored traditions, like the famous Ncwala ceremony, which unites Ngonis from Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania and Mozambique to celebrate the onset of the harvest season or first fruits and pay homage to their ancestors. During this and similar events, Ngoni dancers, warriors, leaders and royalty adorn themselves in wild cat skins including lion for the King, leopard for amakhosi, other traditional leaders and royalty, and serval, genets and other wild animals for other members. Ngonis revere these animals and hold them to be important symbols of power, courage and grace. They have used these wild cat skins to elevate the Ncwala and other Ngoni ceremonies for generations.
However, the Ngoni are realizing that, while their use of wild cat skins comes from their deep admiration for these majestic animals, it is no longer sustainable. As they work to preserve their treasured traditions for future generations, they also acknowledge the urgent need to protect lions, leopards, servals and other wild cats central to their traditions.
Over time, Heritage Furs will replace authentic furs in traditional attires used in ceremonies like the Ncwala, keeping the beauty of the ceremonies while also conserving cultural events and wildlife.
The Heritage Furs have been endorsed by InyandeZulu Inkosi YaMakhosi King Mphezeni IV, King of the Ngoni in Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Burundi and Mozambique.
In 2023, Panthera joined forces with ECOPEL, an international synthetic fur textile manufacturer, to create a new collection of high-quality, bio-based Heritage Furs that provides a life-saving alternative to authentic leopard furs. The latest garments incorporate KOBA, the first-ever bio-based fur textile, developed with vegan fashion designer Stella McCartney. The textile requires less energy to produce and generates lower emissions than nylon furs.
Kicking off the partnership, ECOPEL provided enough fabric for the creation of 1,200 Heritage Fur capes by tailors in South Africa, ensuring that the Shembe community directly benefits from both employment opportunities and profits from future Heritage Fur sales.
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© Sebastian Kennerknecht
