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SCI - First For Hunters

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May 3, 2006


New Hunting Regulations Issued for South Africa
Below is a very brief and preliminary review of the documents released today about hunting in South Africa:

* Two documents have been released –

o Draft National Norms and Standards for the Regulation of the Hunting Industry in South Africa
o Draft Regulations Relating to Listing Threatened or Protected Species

* Both are open to written comments until June 19, 2006 / Comments should go to: The Director-General, Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Private Bag X447, Pretoria, South Africa, 0001, For attention: Dr. Pieter Botha. Dr. Botha’s e-mail address is pbotha@deat.gov.za.
* Based on a PRELIMINARY review, the National Norms and Standards appear to address the following issues –

o Uniform national regulation of the hunting industry
o Prohibition on hunting permits for damage-causing animals (they are to be culled by authorities, except in cases of self-defense)
o Hunters (unless accompanied by professional hunters) must be members of recognized hunting organizations which have a code of ethical conduct and good practice and which support Black Economic Empowerment; this applies to amateur and professional hunters and hunting outfitters;
o An association of hunting organizations may apply for recognition as the national association of hunting organizations;
o Darting, use of bows or spears, luring, baiting, use of dogs, use of vehicles and aircraft, use of lights, are either prohibited or limited; rifles and handguns designed for hunting are authorized;
o Animals may not be hunted if drugged or “trapped against a fence or in a small enclosure where the animal does not have a fair chance of evading the hunter;â€
o Limits are put on hunting on private land adjacent to protected areas where there is no fence;
o There is a definition of humane in relation to hunting: - “is reconcilable with the prevailing norms of society against cruelty to animals,†and “causes no or minimum (i) suffering for the hunted animal; and (ii) distress to other animals in the vicinity of the hunted animal.â€

* We have not yet reviewed the 61-page regulation on threatened and protected species.

SCI will continue to monitor the situation in South Africa and inform our members of any developments.