http://traveller24.news24.com/...cross-to-sa-20151120

The world's wealthiest hunting organization, Safari Club International (SCI) and professional hunting groups, met behind closed doors with the South African Department of Environment (DEA) and representatives of other African nations last week to discuss policies for managing wildlife.

According to a media statement from the DEA, the 14th African Wildlife Consultative Forum, that was held in Limpopo from 9 to 12 November, is an annual SCI-sponsored initiative which “provides an important platform for African countries to enhance existing co-operation between governments, including hunting industries of participating countries".

READ: SA's trophy hunting industry disowns half-tame lion hunting

It goes on to say, the "AWCF is further a platform for sharing experiences in wildlife management and hunting in particular and will include preparations for the upcoming CITES CoP 17 meeting in South Africa next year".

In other words, the meeting is about the SCI persuading African governments, individually and through CITES to adopt policies incorporating the conservation ‘benefits’ of trophy hunting.

SCI already heavily influences government policies to a number of African nations.

In 2013 Zambia issued a ban on hunting lions and leopards because of declining populations due to over-harvesting by trophy hunters. Zambian Tourism and Arts Minister, Jean Kapata at the time cited that “big cat numbers were too low to have a sustainable hunting industry.”

READ: DEA and US hunting bigwigs 'plotting' the future of SA's wildlife

However, after intense pressure from the SCI, Zambia reversed the ban. Zambia’s Green Party president Peter Sinkamba told The Times of Zambia: “Much as we are aware that the PF [Patriotic Front] government is facing serious budget deficit challenges, it is extremely outrageous to resort to unleashing safari hunters on to limited populations of big cat species, regardless of the fact that safari hunting is allegedly most profitable.”

A similar scenario occurred in Namibia. In 2010 the country issued a hunting moratorium on big cats and placed the hunting industry under review.

It was reported that in some areas whole populations of leopard and cheetah were being wiped out. Hunting operators were running leopard and cheetah hunts with dogs, as well as canned hunts - in some cases canned hunts with dogs.

But the moratorium only remained in place for one hunting season. In 2011 Namibia in partnership with SCI launched a census “to manage the sustainability of the leopard population.” A questionnaire was distributed to 1 500 farmers to assess the distribution and relative abundance of leopards throughout Namibia. There were only 400 replies. These, however, were extrapolated which produced a flawed national estimate of leopards of over 14 000.

Nambia has a CITES trophy hunted export quota of 250 leopards per year, a questionable figure, according to experts of the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN), because it is based on “insufficient ecological information and lack of scientific data”.

READ: The unbearable lightness of the hunting footprint...

Unsurprisingly the pro-hunting census-takers recommended the quota “remain at the current level.”

The USA will not allow imports of trophies of cheetahs as it has deemed that cheetah hunting is not conducive to the conservation of the species. Namibia together with SCI has repeatedly petitioned the USA to lift the ban but the country has declined each request.

It is little wonder then that journalists and conservationists, who were not invited to the forum in Polokwane, are concerned that South Africa will succumb to the cash-waving advocates of trophy hunting despite the DEA insisting that “claims of excessive interference by American hunters in South African government policy are not true.”

Ban Animal Trading South Africa (a registered NPO fighting for the rights of animals) demanded that the minutes be made public, something the DEA have since done but the link is simply a summary of the proceedings and lacks any meaningful detail.

Ian Michler, who produced the film Blood Lions, has stated, “Given the non-transparent nature of the conference, it’s hard not to infer a conspiracy between hunters and governments in proposals that will be presented to CITES in the public’s name.”

It is expected that CITES will deliberate on issues such as ivory and rhino horn trade and revision of trophy hunted export quotas at the next Conference of the Parties in Johannesburg in 2016.

Karen Trendler of the NGO Working Wild says “it is of grave concern that issues of this nature and importance are discussed at closed meetings with what appears to be predominantly pro-hunting representation.”

The common-held mantra that trophy hunting benefits conservation has come under fire recently, especially following the death of Cecil the lion.

Many leading wildlife experts like National Geographic Explorer in Residence Dereck Joubert and Kenya’s conservation doyen, Richard Leakey, agree that trophy hunting is not good for conservation because it fuels corruption at the highest government levels, causes the loss of healthy animals that are still key for reproduction and social cohesion but, most importantly, contributes to the decline of Africa’s wildlife populations already in a free-fall from rampant poaching.

It’s time politicians and legislators realise it too.