It is all in the breeding. If you don’t clamp down on the farms feeding the “canning” industry you will lose the battle, warn critics of the government’s attempts to stamp out unethical hunting.
In submissions on proposed new regulations to stop canned hunting, both pro and anti-hunting organisations are unanimous that the 50-plus facilities breeding thousands of predators across the country are the chief culprits.
“The canned lion hunting industry has done serious harm to the good reputation that the South African safari hunting industry has earned … It has created a perception that, in the field of nature conservation, in South Africa we are prepared to lower our ethical standards provided the price is right,” says Timothy Snow, chairperson of the Game Rangers Association of Africa.
The association, which supports “ethical sport hunting as a form of land use”, urges the national Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism to follow the example of the KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga provincial authorities and stop issuing permits for the keeping of lions in captivity.
“We accept there are a large number of lions currently held for the canned lion hunting industry. We recommend that owners be advised to phase this out over a period of not more than two years.”
Department officials are sifting through hundreds of public submissions they received on the draft regulations, published for public comment in January.
Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk has set up a special panel to review the public submissions and make recommendations on how to stamp out canned hunting, which the minister called a “cancer”.
Some critics say that, rather than stopping canned hunting, the draft regulations will merely provide guidelines for breeders and unscrupulous hunters on how to set up business.
The draft regulations allow for the hunting of “wild” and “managed wild” populations of lions, provided they have been released for at least six months and the area is fenced. Commentators say the definitions are contradictory.
“The term ‘wild’ cannot be applied to animals that have been bred in captivity not even after they have been rehabilitated successfully,” says Louise Joubert, founder of the SanWild Wildlife Trust.
“The animals used in canned hunts have typically been bred in captivity and have depended on humans for their food. Their familiarity with people is indicative of the loss of their natural instincts. Six months in a quasi-wild situation will not restore these instincts to a point where the hunting of them could constitute fair chase,” adds Christine Wolf, spokesperson for Species Survival Network, an international coalition of 76 organisations.
Other commentary covers the sustainability of hunting endangered species the regulations deal with the hunting of cheetahs, hyenas, wild dogs and leopards as well as lions — and the capacity of provincial authorities to enforce the regulations.