South Africa’s Draft Policy Position – Elephant, Lion, Leopard and Rhinoceros

Stephen Wiggins Article 4 Comments

After last year’s High-Level Panel (HLP) submission process in South Africa, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) released its HLP Report in May 2021. Among many proposals, the DFFE proposes to enhance the conservation of lion and rhino species in the wild by halting their commercially driven domestication/exploitation. …

South Africa’s High Level Panel Report

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 Banner Image courtesy of Mark Boulton – Elsa Trust and Elsamere The Republic of South Africa’s Cabinet approved the High Level Panel’s (HLP’s) report [High Level Panel Report_15 December 2020] last week, so a briefing for stakeholders was held today, Sunday, 2 May 2021. Minster Creecy (Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and …

Challenging the Captive Lion Industry

Stephen Wiggins Studies 1 Comment

As we await Minister Creecy’s public announcement of South Africa’s High Level Panel recommendations regarding the captive breeding industry (and other ‘sustainable utilisation’ policies), South Africa’s  National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA) recent report, “NSPCA Challenges the Captive Lion Industry” (February 2021), makes for a sombre read and reminder of the cruel, …

NGO Appeal for Closure of Captive Lion Breeding Industry and Associated Activities

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PDF version of letter – NGO Appeal for Closure of Captive Lion Breeding Industry and Associated Activities, 2 December 2020   Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Environment House, 473 Steve Biko, Arcadia, Pretoria 0083, South Africa For attention Faroze Shaik, Chief of Staff [email protected]

Trophy Hunting is a Major Threat to Lions – Interpretive Bias

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By Jared Kukura, Wild Things Initiative,  6 December 2020 Once again, a scientific paper is presented in a way to disparage critics of the trophy hunting community despite its shortcomings and potentially contradictory interpretations. The Threat Analysis for More Effective Lion Conservation attempted to provide a framework for defining issues plaguing lions which …

World Wildlife Crime Report – Trafficking in Protected Species

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The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has issued a report, “World Wildlife Crime Report – Trafficking in Protected Species” 2020. “Lion, jaguar and leopard body parts are being increasingly sought as substitutes to tiger products by traffickers, a major UN report has found, but demand for ivory …

Evidence of a further emerging threat to lion conservation; targeted poaching for body parts

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Banner image courtesy of Greater Limpopo Carnivore Programme A recent Africa Geographic article, “Lion poaching: Escalating demand for claws and teeth,” 2 January 2020 has summarised the conclusions of a paper published towards the end of 2019: Everatt, K.T; Kokes, R. & Lopez Pereira, C., October 2019 –“Evidence of a further …

Another Hwange Lion Executed for a Trophy

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Banner Image – Pictures of Seduli courtesy of Big Cat Conservation Big Cat Conservation is reporting (14 August 2019) that another male lion (11 years old – ref Note [1] below), Seduli has been lured from the protection of Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe to be executed for a hunter’s trophy needs …

Trophy Hunting and Cecil’s Anniversary

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  At the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting gathering in London on 29 June to mark the forthcoming anniversary of Cecil the lion’s untimely death, the haunting sound of Cecil’s recorded roar was played over an audio system – as speaker Peter Egan put it, the sound was a painful …

Protecting Hunting from the Hunters

Stephen Wiggins Article 1 Comment

On the 1 January 2019, a platform “Conservation Frontlines” was launched to raise the ‘virtues’ of hunting in the public consciousness (against the swathe of negative press that has been acknowledged as swaying public opinion against trophy hunting). Conservation Frontlines suggests that: “The best chance to secure social acceptance for …