Care for the Wild International's Chief Executive Dr Barbara
Maas, who has been campaigning against canned hunting for years,
said: "Since I first brought this issue to the world's attention
through the Cook Report in 1997, tens of thousands of animals
have died in enclosed areas without a hope of escape at the
hands of unscrupulous hunters in South Africa. Death in a canned
hunt is also what met surplus or old animals from zoos and
circuses. In what is called 'canned hunts', lions, leopards and
many other species are either purpose-bred as canon fodder or
are stolen from the country's national parks by cash hungry
white farmers in the ruthless pursuit of money. Together with
the hunters' misguided 'man against nature' consumerism, which
demands made-to-order targets in a sanitized, risk free
environment to satisfy their blood lust, this has cast a shadow
over the reputation of an entire country, whose government so
far has chosen to turn a blind eye towards these appalling
practices."
These latest developments are immensely
encouraging and I would like to congratulate the South Africa's
Minister of the Environment's Panel of Experts for having the
courage to speak the truth about their country's canned hunting
industry.
Thanks are due also to all Care for the Wild International
supporters who keep our |
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Tens of thousands of animals have
died in enclosed areas without a hope of escape at the
hands of unscrupulous hunters in South Africa. |
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work to stop canned hunting going.
We can only hope that Panel's recommendations to ban canned
hunting will be translated into legislation as soon as possible.
Please continue to speak out on behalf of the countless big cats
who are still in danger by adding your name to our
PETITION. Trophy
hunting by wealthy white foreign tourists is a booming industry,
but the animals are usually put in small enclosures and have no
opportunity to escape, says the panel's report, which concluded
that the practice is ethically unsavoury and that captive
breeding except for scientific and conservation purposes should
also be banned. Many small game parks have sprung up recently in
South Africa to encourage trophy hunting. Last year, the report
says, an estimated 6 700 tourists killed nearly 54 000 animals,
including 200 lions, 5 500 kudus, 45 leopards, baboons,
giraffes, elephants, hippopotamuses, mongooses, porcupines,
warthogs and zebras. Prices ranged from R166 for a pigeon to
R166 500 for a white rhinoceros.
Minister of Environmental Affairs and
Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk, a keen hunter, said on Tuesday
that the government will introduce new legislation to salvage
South Africa's reputation as an international centre for
wildlife. "The public response has been overwhelming on an issue
that is loaded with emotion and sentiment," he said.
Documents provided to the expert panel
by the Traffic wildlife-trade monitoring network provided
details on the extent of the trophy-hunting business. Breeders,
it was said, are using crossbreeding and genetic manipulation to
introduce exotic animals, such as albino lions, and the "zonkey"
-- a cross between a zebra and a donkey. This, said the panel,
could have devastating implications for long-term biodiversity
in South Africa if it were allowed to continue. "This is
something that no civilised country can continue to tolerate. We
want to stop the approach of 'anything goes' in terms of hunting
and crossbreeding. Some practices which have been developed over
years and decades are distasteful and despicable," said Van
Schalkwyk.
The panel concluded that hunting is an
integral part of South African life but there should be more
controls, greater self-regulation and a concerted attempt to
transform the white-dominated hunting industry into a
multiracial business that benefits more sectors of society.
The United Democratic Movement on
Wednesday welcomed the report on hunting. "The report apparently
validates our concerns about the hunting of animals which are
protected by the state with taxpayers' money," UDM leader Bantu
Holomisa said in a statement on Wednesday. Holomisa said his
party had raised the matter at the beginning of the year,
especially with regard to the hunting of animals in the "buffer
zones" around national parks. "We are pleased that in a
relatively short time our concerns have resulted in an inquiry
... We were shocked that private individuals could be making
millions by orchestrating the hunting of protected animals
coming from our national parks. "Such a situation would be the
destruction of a national asset for the distinct personal gain
of a small group," he said.
The panel also recommended in the
report that where fences between private land and national and
provincial parks have been removed, that "limited hunting can be
allowed, subject to the agreement of the conservation authority
in charge of the park, the establishment of a proper management
plan, and scientifically based off-take". Holomisa said issues
raised by the report are complex and deserve further proper
debate. "The UDM urges the minister to table the report before
the relevant parliamentary committee in order for constructive
discussion on these issues to take place. If necessary, further
public hearings could also be called,"he said.
Original story sourced from
Care for the Wild International
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