SA Hunters and Game Conservation Association (SA Hunters) welcomes the release of the high level panel (HLP) report on the management, breeding, hunting, trade, and handling of elephant, lion, leopard, and rhinoceros that was released earlier this month.
In a media release SA Hunters stated that besides providing specific interventions to resolve key issues in the sector, it also proposes a re-conceptualised wildlife sector that focuses on thriving wild and wild-managed wildlife populations and moving away from captive breeding.
SA Hunters acknowledges that all activities of people have an impact on the environment, and that we have a responsibility to consider the cost of our activities, especially where we utilise wildlife for our benefit, whether it is photographic tourism, hunting, or other purposes.
The wildlife sector must be environmentally and ecologically sustainable, economically efficient, and socially responsible when taking care of the heritage of all citizens. Therefore, the Association welcomes this new recommended approach towards greater sustainability and reversing the trend towards domestication of wildlife, including lion and rhinoceros.
SA Hunters urges its members to abstain from trading in and hunting animals that have been manipulated and bred in captivity and encourages them to actively promote and support wildlife-based activities in extensive wildlife areas.
Misalignment between departments
The panel also highlighted the misalignment and challenges stemming from overlapping mandates between the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment (DFFE) and the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) in dealing with wildlife in South Africa.
On one hand, Minister Creecy is urging towards valuing wild populations, while DALRRD has listed various indigenous wildlife species under the Animal Improvement Act that allows domestication of wildlife through agricultural production system approaches.
Wildlife should be wild and valued as such. Therefore, SA Hunters initiated legal proceedings to challenge DALRRD’s decision, which had taken place without due consultation with the wildlife sector.
SA Hunters stated that it would study the report in detail and apply its mind to aspects that affect its members, wildlife conservation, and the sustainability of a responsible wildlife sector going forward.
ISSUED: SA HUNTERS AND GAME CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION
