The latest figures from the Professional Hunters Association of South Africa

The latest figures from the Professional Hunters Association of South Africa (PHASA) show that 7 342 foreign hunters, about 53 percent of whom are from
the United States, shot at least 39 130 animals between October 1 2004 and
September 10 2005. This includes at least 305 lions, 51 elephants, 74 white
rhinos, 202 buffaloes and 34 leopards.

According to Phasa the average cost of a trophy white rhino is about $29 000
(R200 000), an elephant $21 000, a lion $17 390, a leopard $8 000 and a
buffalo $7 880.
The South African government is strongly supportive of hunting and argues
that the "sustainable utilisation" of wild animals is both a morally and
financially acceptable practice that contributes towards the economy and
helps create jobs, particularly in rural areas.

ALL SMOKE AND MIRRORS

THE NEW CANNED HUNTING REGULATIONS by CHRIS MERCER.

Co author of the Books:

“For the Love of Wildlife” and “Canned Lion Hunting - A National Disgrace”

I believe that the new hunting regulations are nothing but an elaborate public relations exercise. These regulations were to be expected from such a panel of hunters and non-experts, as I warned the hundreds of people who I addressed when I toured U.K. recently in order to expose the institutionalised cruelty to animals that is called Conservation in South Africa.

The two new government publications, one on general hunting standards, and one on, inter alia, large predators, are fundamentally flawed in two critical respects:

First, there was never any intention to stop the cruelty, so what we have is a formula of pious, unenforceable aspirations, all designed to stifle public criticism. But it is the cruelty which offends the public, and until that is addressed by a complete ban on all trophy hunting, international pressure will continue to mount against South Africa.

Second, the attempt to infiltrate hunting industry notions of fair chase into biodiversity protection is transparently flawed. All trophy hunting is genetically and environmentally devastating, whether the hunter shoots like a colonial fop from a vehicle, or like Rambo on foot after a long stalk. The result is the same, pain and death for the animal, and a loss of biodiversity. You cannot love or respect Nature with a gun. And nowhere do the new regulations/standards recognise that trophy hunting causes stunting in species. Compare the slight Karoo springbok and Cape Leopard (who have been hunted hard for 350 years) with their much larger Kalahari cousins (who have only been hunted hard for 50 years).

The new regulations certainly look very impressive on paper, but just look who is going to enforce them - the very same conservation officials who have caused the problem in the first place. As Einstein reminds us “problems can never be solved at the level at which they were created”. I for one would have no problem getting around them, especially if I had cronies in the conservation services, and I am sure that many lion breeders are much smarter than me.

Nothing less than sweeping out of our conservation services all the hunting thugs who wear conservation uniforms will stop the cruelty. Expecting such officials to enforce the new restrictions is as absurd as asking Al Capone’s henchmen to monitor his activities. This is simply industry self- regulation in a new disguise.

So far from stopping the cruelty, the new regulations seek to extend the grisly business of killing wildlife for profit to black empowerment groups. Our nation and this world need fewer killers, not more.

There is a major moral issue here, which is being studiously ignored - whether the infliction of suffering and death upon unoffending animals for fun is acceptable. If it is criminal to beat a dog or a donkey, why should trophy hunters be allowed to do much worse to other animals?

As for the Minister’s fine rhetoric about the new regulations being ‘the end of canned hunting,’ I predict that his extravagant boast is going to suffer the same fate as George W Bush’s boast three years ago that ‘the war in Iraq is over.’ Forget fair chase, Minister. Just stop the cruelty.

canned hunting has a long history in south africa and the so called \"new\" regulations is not meant to abolish this inhumane practise at all!
many so called \"game reserves\" and guest farms breed bid cats for the simple minded hunter\'s sake!
we all can make a difference by boycotting such countries. only when a government realises that tourism money doesn\'t flow in abundance because of failing action against such cruelty then the government might change its mind for the better!
but each and every day that breaks will be a \"last\" day for a gracious animal which faces death penalty just because it\'s on \"the list\" of a financially potential but insane hunter - mostly - from overseas!
especially south africa here the post-apartheid government seems to have overtaken the unethically rules whith which the boer-government treated blacks and coloured and now treats animals!
let\'s boycott such countries for the sake of real wildlife destinations which have introduced appropriate policies for any hunting - despite hunting being itself a very questionable subject!
irma keller

We ran a wildlife rehab centre for 8 years. During that time we came across such cruelty that i dispaired. What keeps me writing letters, demanding change is that if we dont, who will. I believe that as an animal welfare movement we are growing. It is the active involvement of people like u, especially those in business, who will help turn the tide. Yes the human being has gone mad. So lets change it, what else do we have to do with our miserable lives, ha ha.
Whenever i get depressed i think of the star fish story.
Dont know if u have heard it so here goes-
A man was walking along a beach where thousands and thousands of star fish had washed up with the tide. In the distance he saw the figure of a boy bending, picking one up, walking to the sea and throwing it back into the waves.
He walked up to the boy and said " You cant make a difference, there are just too many". The boy did not answer but bent, picked up another star fish, walked to the waters edge and threw it in. Turning he said "Made a difference to that one". The man smiled and started to help the boy. Soon there were many people on the beach, bending, picking up starfish and throwing them back into the water.

So our movement is growing and little by little we will make a difference to a few and then to many . We can only hope.
Besides the pen is more powerful than the sword. So lets keep writing.
Thank u so much for your support, we need to stick together, we will make a difference, even if it is to only a few. they are worth it.
The breeding of lions in captivity, using the cubs as tourist attraction until they are too old to cuddle and then selling them to hunters to be shot is unacceptable. I urge all who feel as I do to write to the South African Government to demand they ban this awful industry completely. Do not spend your tourist dollars in a country that has no respect for sentient animals. Thank u.

Comment sent in and published for Drakenstein Lion Park

Drakenstein Lion Park is a privately funded facility. The Park provides
lions in distress with sanctuary, where they are safe from abuse and
persecution, and treated with the compassion and respect they deserve. The
Park is actively involved in improving the quality of life of lions in
captivity, locally as well as internationally, either by offering these
animals a home or working in conjunction with other animal welfare
organizations to secure a safe future for individual animals in dire need.
Our comment on the latest regulations is as follows;
Although we applaud the spirit of the new regulations and must congratulated
the appointed panel on the dramatic improvements in these regulations, we
must express serious misgivings with regard to the actual implementation and
policing of the proposed regulations. Many loop holes still exist which will
allow for a continuation of the practice of "canned hunting" under the guise
of "rehabilitation".
In many instances, the regulations require a degree of honesty from the
canned lion breeders that is unprecedented. These are, after all, the
"environmental thugs" the Minister of Environmental Affairs must have been
referring to when the regulations were released.
The practicality of establishing if a) "an animal has been rehabilitated in
an extensive wildlife system" and b) "has been fending for itself in the
wild for at least two years" is nearly impossible and relies mostly on the
word of persons who have a commercial interest in ensuring the hunt goes
ahead, and a conservation official.
Although we are sure that some officials will adhere to and enforce the new
regulations, many conservation officials have openly endorsed and
facilitated the practice of canned hunting for many years. One only has to
look at the instances of fraudulent CITES Permits being issued to canned
lion breeders in the Free State, add to this the Northern Cape authorities
allowing the establishment of a "put and take" canned lion hunting operation
in their province on the eve of these new regulations and one has to wonder.
The definition of hunting, which is supposedly a "sport", defines hunting
as; "to kill such animal by any means", "to capture an animal ... with the
intent to kill" and "pin down against a fence ... with the intent to kill",
can surely not be considered "sporting" by those that derive pleasure from
killing defenseless animals?
The new regulations still allow the hunting of large predators with a bow
and arrow even though it cannot be disputed that this form of hunting in
relation to large predators is unnecessarily cruel and inhumane. The use of
dogs to track wounded animals will provide a loop hole for this type of
hunting practice to continue and we foresee the scenario where animals are
wounded purposefully so that dogs can be employed in the hunt. The use of
bait when hunting lions and leopards should be disallowed as this is
contrary to the principles of fair chase. Baiting animals and laying in
ambush can surely not be considered as "sporting".

We note that although the National Zoo has a representative on the
Scientific Authority panel, animal welfare is notably excluded. These new
regulations are, to a large extent, as a result of enormous pressure from
animal welfare groups. To now exclude animal welfare from the Scientific
Authority would be short sighted. Would the National Zoo's role to be to
look after the interests of zoos in general? Many zoos have supplied the
canned hunting industry in the past, or had business relationships with the
facilitators of canned hunting, so one must ask why zoos get representation,
but animal welfare does not.
We believe that although the proposed regulations make great progress
towards curtailing canned hunting, they do not abolish it.
We therefore submit that no large predator that has been bred in captivity
should be hunted, regardless of whether the animal has been "rehabilitated"
or not.
This is a logical and straightforward solution to what has become an
enormous problem in South Africa. Any loop hole in these regulations will be
exploited by the facilitators of canned hunting, and instead of adding more
and more clauses to try to close these loop holes, the obvious seems to be
to ban the hunting of captive bred predators outright.
Paul Hart
www.lionrescue.org.za
Tel/Fax: 27 21 8633290

i could not agree more!
pressure on to governmental bodies have to be strenghtend in order to really abolish this cruelty!
thanks paul for sharing your knowledge!
best regards
irma