Government plans to eliminate rogue hunting practices

Johannesburg, South Africa


25 October 2005 03:05

Draft hunting regulations, including a ban on "canned hunting", will be published for comment early next year, Environmental Affairs and Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk said in Cape Town on Tuesday.

"The unfortunate reality is that hunting, at present, is not well-regulated."

Different provinces set different policies and had varying capacities to enforce them.

"There have been gaps and loopholes that have allocwed abuses like canned hunting to exist unchecked."

Van Schalkwyk said a report, released to the media on Tuesday and coordinated by former environment affairs director-general Crispian Olver, had suggested norms and standards for hunting in South Africa.

One of the major recommendations is the prohibition of hunting of any animals that originate from intensive wildlife production systems or canned hunting.

Other recommendations include a ban on captive breeding, except for scientific and conservation purposes, and the prohibition of hunting in national and provincial parks.

"We will carefully examine these recommendations and the suggested norms and standards for hunting."

Van Schalkwyk said he would publish a "departmental draft of the norms and standards for public comment" early next year.

The next step would be to craft national hunting regulations based on these norms and standards, with the provinces.

He said the department wanted to act to "eliminate rogue hunting practices, like canned hunting" and that was why a detailed regulatory system was necessary.

The report would make a significant contribution to the regulating of hunting.

Van Schalkwyk said it was clear from the panel's first meeting that they would extend beyond their brief to examine canned hunting and trophy hunting.

Their focus expanded to include hunting's importance to the economy, practices within the industry, and the impacts of hunting on conservation and biodiversity.

They also looked at developing norms and standards for the regulation of professional and recreational hunting, empowerment and research.

"Public inputs as well as commissioned research -- 41 written submissions, 28 oral submissions, and four research papers -- were considered by the panel."

Van Schalkwyk announced the research project in his budget vote on April 6.

The report and recommendations were presented to the minister and MECs on Tuesday morning at Kirstenbosch in Cape Town. - Sapa

So, with that said ( and what else is new) what is that all going to do to ranch and farm hunting in South Africa? Lions? Bontebok? White Rhino? Black Wildebeest? Scimitar Horned Oryx? Barbary Sheep? etc. etc? What a can of worms this may end up being.

In theory there are some (reasonable points for discussion) ... in practice, if his governments past record with reviewing the (gun regulations) is any guide to progress, then I guess it will be a cock up to put it midly as when they say there will be discussion it tends to be somewhat biased in the final legislation ...

Perhaps he might concentrate on other more pressing issues facing SA or is this another political ploy to break down the economy !!!

I wish him well in his endevours (-:

Peter

South African panel decries 'canned hunting'By CLARE NULLIS

Tuesday, October 25, 2005 Posted at 2:32 PM EDT

Associated Press

Cape Town — Lions bred in captivity to be shot and killed by a pleasure-seeking tourist. Rhinos felled by bow and arrow for fun. Zebras bred with donkeys to slow their escape from hunters.

A panel of experts highlighted the darker side of South Africa's booming wildlife industry Tuesday and recommended a total ban on “canned hunting†– the release of captive-bred animals in captivity with no chance of escaping their human predators.

Environment Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk said the government would introduce legislation next year to salvage South Africa's reputation as an international haven for wildlife.

“We want to stop the approach of 'anything goes' in terms of hunting and crossbreeding,†said Mr. van Schalkwyk, himself an avid hunter. “Some practices that have been developed over years and decades are distasteful and despicable.â€


South Africa is famed for its throngs of animals and birds. The jewel in the conservation crown, Kruger National Park, draws millions of camera-toting visitors each year.

In the shadow of Kruger – where hunting is outlawed – smaller parks have sprung up, aimed at visitors who carry weapons. Last year, an estimated 6,700 tourists killed nearly 54,000 animals.

Faced with mounting public concern, Mr. van Schalkwyk convened a panel of environmental conservation and management experts in April to look into the industry and suggest ways of regulating it.

Documents provided to the panel by the TRAFFIC wildlife trade monitoring network provided details on the extent of the “trophy†hunting business.

It said 190 lions were hunted last year by foreign tourists, worth an estimated $3.3-million – about $17,500 each. Nearly 5,500 kudus – valued at $5.3-million in all – also were killed, along with 45 leopards worth an estimated $250,000.

The list of slain animals included baboons, giraffes, elephants, hippopotamuses, mongooses, porcupines, warthogs and zebras. Prices paid ranged from $25 for the pigeon or quail to $25,000 for the white rhinoceros.

Some hunters were offered the chance to shoot large mammals, including rhinoceroses, with bows and arrows, condemning them to a long and painful death, the panel found.

“This is something that no civilized country can continue to tolerate,†Mr. van Schalkwyk said.

To satisfy the insatiable demand of foreign hunters, game parks resorted to importing boars from Russia and tahrs from the Himalayas, the panel said.

Breeders also used crossbreeding and genetic manipulation to make the potential prey more appealing – for instance, by introducing more albino strains in lions. This could have devastating implications for long-term biodiversity in South Africa, the panel said.

One of the most extreme examples quoted was that of the “zonkey,†a crossbreed between the fleet-footed zebra and the slower-moving donkey.

The panel concluded that hunting is – and should remain – an integral part of South African life because of its importance to the economy and employment. Hunting kudu and other game to make “biltong†– a popular local dried meat — is one of a number of entrenched traditions, it said.

But the panel said there must 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.

Crispian Olver, chairman of the expert panel, said implementation of its recommendations would help repair South Africa's tarnished image among environmentalists and animal-rights groups.

“We would be able to stand proud among the nations of the world and no longer be ashamed of our hunting,†he said.

As so well put by Balla Balla, if this form of pathetic, liberal "correctness", in any way compares to the new gunlaws in the country, the whole industry, in plain simple English, will be in deep shit. Another example of how the ultra liberals are slowly but surely winning the war.

Brad

quote:

One of the most extreme examples quoted was that of the “zonkey,†a crossbreed between the fleet-footed zebra and the slower-moving donkey.

A Zonkey? What's a Zonkey, and why would you want one?

I also read something about a new desiese resistant Buffalo that has been bred???

Don't now any details.

FB

There is nothing sinister in the breeding of TB free Buff. By drinking on his mother the TB is transmitted to the calf. The moment a calf is born it is immidiately removed from the mother and a surrogate cow is raising the calf. Eventually you will have a breeding stock of buf that is disease free. TB causes a lot of deaths in the lion population in KNP. It is transferred to them when eating TB infected buf.