'Barbaric weapons' blamed for leopard's death

Fran Blandy | Baviaanskloof, South Africa



19 June 2006 04:07

The death of a female leopard three days after she tore herself from a gin trap in the Eastern Cape has reignited debate around what some conservationists call "barbaric weapons".

"My strong message is that gin traps are barbaric, indiscriminate weapons and there is no place for it in the 21st century," says Bool Smuts, director of the Landmark Foundation, which works with the conservation of predators.

The leopard tore free from the trap and was on the loose in the Baviaanskloof area for at least three days with the trap still attached to her paw.

He says a hunter and his dogs picked up the animal's scent and found a severed toe. On Friday, the hunter apparently came across the dogs tearing the leopard apart.

It was a point of dispute whether the animal was dead before or after the dogs arrived.

Gerhardus Ferreira, an environmental officer from the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, says the animal was dead when the hunter found it. It had probably died of severe stress caused by pain and suffering and being unable to hunt.

Smuts says when trapped, leopards will try to "eat their own [paws] off to escape". Often gangrene sets in as blood supply to the limb is cut off.

He says the Baviaanskloof World Heritage site is a hot spot of conflict over the use of gin traps.

Smuts says four leopards have been caught in the area since January, three of which died. Two of those were breeding females. This brought to 19 the number of leopards killed in the past 42 months.

Dawid Smith represents a union of farmers that has implemented a leopard committee with the environmental department. His farm borders on the one where the leopard was caught.

He farms sheep and angora goats and estimates that leopard killings have cost him R300 000 over the past three years. At one stage he lost 58 lambs in three weeks, he says.

However, he says farmers are not trying to trap leopards. "Let me make it clear, farmers are more conservation aware than the person who complains about the poor leopard which got hurt."

He says farmers are tired of being seen as barbarians and that people should become financially and not just emotionally involved in leopard conservation.

In the past, he says, farmers have found injured leopards and taken them for treatment before freeing them again.

Smuts says professional hunters, such as those who found the leopard, go from farm to farm with their dogs looking for predators.

"They have an incentive to bring back [dead] predators," says Smuts, adding that a dead leopard is said to fetch about R500.

Smith agrees that the hunter is remunerated if he brings back a rooikat, but will be penalised for killing an animal not considered a threat. He denies that farmers pay hunters for dead leopards. "But, you must pay them something. They have worked for a day's wages."

Ferreira says in most cases a hunter will be paid up to R2 500 if a leopard is brought back alive, as an incentive not to kill it.

Gin traps are legal for use against "problem" animals such as the rooikat.

Smith says using gin traps to catch other predators that put farmers' livestock at risk is successful enough to justify their continued use.

While farmers might also find leopards beautiful, they are of no financial worth to them, he says. Farmers can use leopards as part of a tourism initiative by collaring them and taking people to see them for a fee. This would do more to ensure their safety.

He would happily use his land for tourism if it earned him as much as his land and stock, he says.

Other methods currently used are hunting dogs, cages and poison traps.

Cages have not been very successful, but farmers are looking to draw from the experience of others who have been more successful catching animals in this way. A leopard caught in the cage can be released in another area without being injured.

According to Ferreira, before the leopard committee was set up farmers and the government did not work together and leopards were often killed secretly. Now permit systems and a plan of action that is followed when an injured leopard is found have been implemented and found to be very successful.

He adds: "A farmer is not there to conserve; he is there to farm."

Ferreira says the problem is a lack of scientific data about the number of leopards in the area, as well as their habitat in the extremely mountainous area.

Research is planned to determine problem areas and the numbers of leopard. In the meantime, he says, everyone is trying to work together to find a solution. -- Sapa

New laws 'won't stop canned hunting'

Johannesburg, South Africa


19 June 2006 04:00

South Africa's proposals to clamp down on "canned hunting", or the killing of captive animals, will be useless unless the laws are clear and properly enforced, an animal welfare group said on Monday.

"All the Bills and laws in the world will not stop the scourge of captive hunting, and the loopholes will be exploited," said Neil Greenwood, spokesperson for the Southern Africa chapter of the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

Greenwood was speaking as the deadline closed for public comment on government proposals to regulate captive hunting, which brings in about R25-billion a year in South Africa, drawing game hunters from Europe and the United States.

He said a major drawback is that the distance from which an animal can be killed and the dimensions of the hunting area are not spelt out.

"No minimum dimensions have been given, which then creates a situation that becomes subjective to interpretation about the specific measurement of the area in which an animal can be hunted and from what distance," he said.

Greenwood also said the proposed laws need to be implemented effectively.

"It's all very well to make suggestions, but we need to know how the government plans to enforce all of this," he said.

The proposals were unveiled by Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk in May to bring in "integrity and best practices".

Citing examples where rhinos were killed with crossbows or bows and arrows, Greenwood added that hunting should be conducted along "fair chase" principles, pitting the hunter's wits against those of the animal.

South Africa has become one of the hunting world's greatest draws, attracting about 9 500 foreign hunters every year, the Professional Hunters' Association of South Africa estimated last year.

About 9 000 privately owned ranches employ about 70 000 people to cater to foreign hunters who come to hunt animals, including Africa's "Big Five" -- the lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant and rhino. -- Sapa-AFP

What is a gin trap?

quote:

What is a gin trap?

Here in Oz, I could be so politically incorrect answering that question!!!!

fla3006.

Try this site

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/andyspatch/gintraps.htm

l don't know how to hyp' the link, but if you put the question to google you'll get the answer.

ATB.

Dave.
....

"What is a gin trap?"

The over simplified explaination is that it is a foot-hold trap, perhaps better known by the misnomer the anti-hunting/trapping establishment prefer, "leg-hold" trap.
Unlike the more refined traps employed in the states (particularly) "gin traps" tend to be oversized. Such devises are also frequently set by persons who do not use the best means to guard against undue injury to the animals or be as selective as possible. These are the factors that have given foot-hold traps such bad press. In actuality foot-hold traps CAN be super effective, selective and nearly harmless when properly utilized by knowledgable trappers. They are the method of choice for capturing and translocating predators such as wolf, bobcat, lynx and cougar. Before condeeming foot-hold traps due to improper use by uninformed trappers, think for a moment if you'd want your hunting ethics judged by those of poachers!

Thanks gentlemen. That's what I thought but wasn't sure. The previous owner left a few dozen in my barn (Victors).