South Africa court suspends Shell seismic survey plan

France24 – AFP, 28 December 2021

The ruling is a temporary victory for green groups who said seismic exploration
would harm whales, seals and other fragile species RODGER BOSCH AFP

Johannesburg (AFP) – A South African court on Tuesday blocked Shell from using seismic waves to explore for oil and gas in the Indian Ocean, in a victory for environmentalists worried about the impact on whales and other species. 

Backing a suit filed by conservationists, the High Court in the Eastern Cape town of Makhanda ruled that Shell was "hereby interdicted from undertaking seismic survey operations." 

The fossil fuel giant had announced plans to start exploration over more than 6,000 square kilometres (2,300 square miles) of ocean off South Africa's Wild Coast region. 

The Wild Coast is a 300-kilometre (185-mile) stretch of natural beauty, dotted with marine and nature reserves. 

The area of interest lies 20 kilometres (12 miles) off the coast, in waters 700 to 3,000 meters deep (2,300 to 10,000 feet). 

Shell's scheme entails using seismic shockwaves which bounce off the sea bed, and whose signature can point to potentially energy-bearing sites. 

"Many sea creatures will be affected, from whales, dolphins, seals, penguins to tiny plankton that will be blasted," said Janet Solomon, of the environmental group Oceans Not Oil in the runup to the hearing. 

Exploration had been scheduled to start on December 1 and last up to five months. 

A Shell spokesperson said Tuesday: "We respect the court's decision and have paused the survey while we review the judgement. 

'Huge victory'

"Surveys of this nature have been conducted for over 50 years with more than 15 years of extensive peer-reviewed scientific research." 

The campaigners were jubilant at the ruling, but stressed that the relief was only temporary. 

"It's a huge victory," said Katherine Robinson of the NGO Natural Justice. 

"But the struggle is not over -- this decision is just the interdict. We understand that the proceedings will continue." 

A petition against the project had gathered nearly 85,000 signatures. 

Campaigners said the scheme would entail "one extremely loud shock wave every 10 seconds, 24 hours a day, for five months at a time." 

Shell argued that it took "great care to prevent or minimise" the impact on wildlife, and promised that the work would strictly follow the guidelines of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, a UK government adviser on nature conservation. 

On Tuesday, it also stressed what it described as the benefits for South Africa if oil and gas were found. 

"South Africa is highly reliant on energy imports for many of its energy needs," the company's spokesperson said. 

"If viable resources were to be found offshore, this could significantly contribute to the country’s energy security and the government’s economic development programmes." 

South Africa's energy ministry had backed the scheme, and lashed those who opposed it as thwarting investment in the country's development. 

The High Court's ruling comes after a lower court rejected the conservationists' suit in early December. 

Several fishermen and local groups were also part of the petition.

Botswana mulls proposal to lift hunting ban

Yahoo – AFP, February 21, 2019

The proposed legislation would overturn a 2014 ban on hunting which was introduced
 to protect Botswana's wildlife and reverse a decline in the elephant population (AFP
Photo/CHRIS JEK)

Gaborone (Botswana) (AFP) - Botswana's government on Thursday proposed ending a strict ban on hunting, which was introduced to protect wildlife in this game-rich southern African country, prompting conservationists to warn it could harm tourism.

The controversial proposals, which must be debated by cabinet before becoming law, would overturn a hunting ban that was introduced in 2014 to reverse a decline in the population of elephants and other wildlife.

"If needs be, we will give the opportunity to parliament to also interrogate it," said President Mokgweetsi Masisi after receiving the report.

The ban was one of the flagship policies of his predecessor, former president Ian Khama, who was an ardent conservationist.

The ruling Botswana Democratic party has been lobbying to overturn the ban, especially on elephant hunting, saying populations have become unmanageably large in parts -- placing the animals on a collision course with humans.

The proposals also include the introduction of elephant culling to manage numbers.

But conservationists laid into the proposed legislation, describing it as "a disaster".

Botswana is home to the largest elephant population in Africa, with more than 

135,000 of them living in what has long been known as one of the safest places

for them (AFP Photo/MONIRUL BHUIYAN)

"Botswana has got two million residents and the economy thrives on diamonds and tourism," said Dex Kotze, an independent conservation expert.

"This can do major brand damage to Botswana's tourism industry. It's crazy."

Masisi took over as president in April last year and the review began five months later, just days after a wildlife charity said some 90 elephants had been slaughtered for their tusks, suggesting a sudden spike in poaching.

But the government quickly sought to debunk the claims by Elephants Without Borders (EWB).

According to a report put together by Rural Development Minister Frans Van Der Westhuizen, overturning the hunting ban would "promote conservationism".

And rural communities, he wrote, would no longer be "concentrating on the negative aspects of property destruction and loss of human lives caused by wildlife".

Landlocked Botswana has the largest elephant population in Africa, with more than 135,000 of them roaming freely in its unfenced parks and wide open spaces.

Over the past decade, the number of elephants on the continent has fallen by around 111,000 to 415,000, according to figures from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Researchers mourn killing of Cecil the lion's cub

Yahoo – AFP, July 21, 2017

Cecil was killed by American dentist and trophy hunter Walter Palmer. Researchers
now confirm that a trophy hunter has shot dead one of his cubs (AFP Photo)

Johannesburg (AFP) - A trophy hunter in Zimbabwe has shot dead a cub of Cecil the lion whose death in 2015 caused worldwide outrage, researchers tracking the pride confirmed Friday.

Xanda, a six-year-old lion fitted with a radio collar, was killed on July 7 in northwest Zimbabwe, close to where US dentist Walter Palmer shot Cecil with a high-powered bow and arrow two years ago.

"Xanda was shot by a trophy hunter on a legally sanctioned hunt in a hunting area outside Hwange National Park," Andrew Loveridge from Oxford University's zoology department told AFP.

"As researchers we are saddened to lose a well-known study animal we have monitored since birth."

In 2015, Cecil's killing triggered fierce controversy as he was a popular attraction for visitors to the famed Hwange National Park.

Both Cecil and Xanda wore electronic GPS tracking collars in a project run by Oxford University's wildlife conservation research unit.

But they had strayed out of the park boundaries and into a legal hunting area.

The trophy hunter has not been named, but many hunters are from the United States or South Africa, paying tens of thousands of dollars for the opportunity to kill lions and other wild animals.

Pro-hunt groups say hunting provides an essential economic incentive to promote long-term conservation and that the income pays to safeguard wildlife and catch poachers.

Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper named the hunt's professional expedition leader as Zimbabwean Richard Cooke, and said that the hunt was legal as Xanda was six years old.

It added that Cooke had handed in the collar after discovering it on the dead animal, who was the head of the pride with two lionesses and several cubs.

Palmer, who shot Cecil, a 13-year-old male, was hounded on social media and went into hiding after demonstrations outside his dental practice.

He was reported to have paid $55,000 for the hunt.

No charges were brought against Palmer or the local guide as the hunt was also found to be legal.

Scientists, who say that Hwange has a healthy population of about 550 lions, are pushing for a 5-km (3-mile) hunting exclusion zone to protect lions who wander outside the park's boundaries.

Cecil had at least 12 surviving cubs last year, according to the Oxford research project.

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Zimbabwe wants US to extradite Palmer for killing Cecil

Trophy hunting 'no help' to Zimbabwean people
Zimbabwe hunter given bail over death of Cecil the lion

Pakistan prepares for Saudi royal to hunt 'protected' birds

Bustard act: Saudi prince accused of slaying 2,000 near-extinct birds while on safari in Pakistan (April 24, 2014)

Hunt: Fahd bin Sultan is said to have killed

1,977 houbara bustards in just 21 days while

on holiday

Tanzania ditches plan to evict Masai for Serengeti 'wildlife corridor'

Botswana to ban wildlife hunting

Spain's King Juan Carlos poses in front of a dead elephant

on a hunting trip in Botswana, Africa. Photograph: Target

Press/Barcroft Media

Spain's king ousted as WWF honorary president
Spain's King Juan Carlos under fire over elephant hunting trip

Kryon Q&A

Question: Dear Kryon: I live in Spain. I am sorry if I will ask you a question you might have already answered, but the translations of your books are very slow and I might not have gathered all information you have already given. I am quite concerned about abandoned animals. It seems that many people buy animals for their children and as soon as they grow, they set them out somewhere. Recently I had the occasion to see a small kitten in the middle of the street. I did not immediately react, since I could have stopped and taken it, without getting out of the car. So, I went on and at the first occasion I could turn, I went back to see if I could take the kitten, but it was to late, somebody had already killed it. This happened some month ago, but I still feel very sorry for that kitten. I just would like to know, what kind of entity are these animals and how does this fit in our world. Are these entities which choose this kind of life, like we do choose our kind of Human life? I see so many abandoned animals and every time I see one, my heart aches... I would like to know more about them.

Answer: Dear one, indeed the answer has been given, but let us give it again so you all understand. Animals are here on earth for three (3) reasons.

(1) The balance of biological life. . . the circle of energy that is needed for you to exist in what you call "nature."

(2) To be harvested. Yes, it's true. Many exist for your sustenance, and this is appropriate. It is a harmony between Human and animal, and always has. Remember the buffalo that willingly came into the indigenous tribes to be sacrificed when called? These are stories that you should examine again. The inappropriateness of today's culture is how these precious creatures are treated. Did you know that if there was an honoring ceremony at their death, they would nourish you better? Did you know that there is ceremony that could benefit all of humanity in this way. Perhaps it's time you saw it.

(3) To be loved and to love. For many cultures, animals serve as surrogate children, loved and taken care of. It gives Humans a chance to show compassion when they need it, and to have unconditional love when they need it. This is extremely important to many, and provides balance and centering for many.

Do animals know all this? At a basic level, they do. Not in the way you "know," but in a cellular awareness they understand that they are here in service to planet earth. If you honor them in all three instances, then balance will be the result. Your feelings about their treatment is important. Temper your reactions with the spiritual logic of their appropriateness and their service to humanity. Honor them in all three cases.

Global trade in African grey parrots banned

Yahoo – AFP, October 2, 2016

African Grey parrots on sale at a bird market in Kuwait City (AFP Photo/
Yasser al-Zayyat)

Johannesburg (AFP) - Delegates at a global wildlife conference on Sunday voted to ban international trade in African grey parrots, one of the world's most trafficked birds.

Prized for their ability to mimic human speech, the birds are a highly sought-after pet, but their numbers have been decimated in recent years by poaching and the destruction of their forest habitats.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meeting in Johannesburg voted 95 to 35 in a secret poll to ban the global commercial trade of the parrot.

The African grey parrot will now have 

"the highest level of protection" (AFP

Photo/Ronaldo Schemidt)

CITES said the vote result would give the African grey the "highest level of protection" by listing it in "appendix 1", which outlaws all international trade in animals facing possible extinction.

Dr Colman O'Criodain of conservation group WWF called the move "a huge step forward" in protecting the bird.

"Fraud and corruption have enabled traffickers to vastly exceed current quotas and continue to harvest unsustainable numbers of African grey parrots from Congo’s forests to feed the illegal trade," he said.

"Banning the trade will make it easier for law enforcement agencies to crack down on the poachers and smugglers, and give the remaining wild populations some much-needed breathing space."

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) estimates that between 2.1 and 3.2 million African greys were captured between 1975 and 2013.

Susan Lieberman of the Wildlife Conservation Society said the parrot had experienced "significant population declines throughout its range in West, Central and East Africa".

"It is extremely rare or locally extinct in Benin, Burundi, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Togo," she said in a statement

"If this bird could talk –- and it certainly can -– the African grey parrot would say thank you."

The CITES treaty, signed by 182 countries and the European Union, protects about 5,600 animal and 30,000 plant species from over-exploitation through commercial trade.

The 12-day conference, which ends on Wednesday, is sifting through 62 proposals to tighten or loosen trade restrictions on around 500 species.

World governments urge end to domestic ivory markets

Yahoo – AFP, Kerry Sheridan, September 11, 2016

After fierce debate, including opposition from Namibia and Japan, a motion was 
adopted at the IUCN World Conservation Congress to urge closure of all 
domestic ivory markets (AFP Photo/Tony Karumba)

Miami (AFP) - In a bid to stop the killing of elephants for their tusks, world governments voted at a major conservation conference to urge the closure of all domestic ivory markets.

After fierce debate -- including opposition from governments like Namibia and Japan -- the motion was adopted on the final day of the International Union for Conservation of Nature World Conservation Congress, a 10-day meeting that drew 9,000 people to Honolulu, Hawaii this month.

"Today's vote by IUCN members is the first time that a major international body has called on every country in the world to close its legal markets for elephant ivory," said Andrew Wetzler, deputy chief program officer at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

"It's truly a landmark moment, and a victory for elephants that will hopefully be repeated later this month at the next meeting of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Johannesburg."

Although the motion is non-binding, it "urges the governments of countries with domestic ivory markets to take all necessary legislative and regulatory efforts to close them," according to the IUCN.

Experts say that domestic ivory markets help fuel poaching by allowing traffickers a cover for their illegal imports and exports.

The United States and China, among the biggest consumers of ivory, have already agreed to enact near-total bans on their domestic markets.

Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) rangers prepare a pyre in preparation for a burning 

of tonnes of ivory, rhino-horn and other confiscated wildlife trophies (AFP Photo/

Tony Karumba)

At the IUCN meeting, Japan and Namibia -- which also have thriving domestic ivory markets -- sought to soften the language of the motion by making 20 different amendments, but those efforts were rejected.

"The global conservation community is stepping up," said Wildlife Conservation Society President and CEO Cristian Samper.

"No more domestic ivory sales. Elephants have had enough of the ivory trade and so has the world."

Poaching persists

CITES banned the international commercial trade in African elephant ivory in 1989.

But illegal poaching of endangered elephants for their tusks persists at dangerous levels, according to research released at the start of the September 1-10 conference, the largest of its kind in the conservation community.

Savanna elephants have declined at a rate of 27,000 -- or eight percent -- per year, with a total of 144,000 lost in less than a decade, said the findings.

Poaching hotspots identified include Angola, Mozambique and Tanzania, where "staggering population declines" were found, said the study funded by Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist Paul Allen.

The US and China, among the biggest consumers of ivory, have already agreed

to enact near-total bans on their domestic markets (AFP Photo/Tony Karumba)

Other populations face "local extinction" in northeast Democratic Republic of Congo, northern Cameroon and southwest Zambia.

Wildlife groups hailed the IUCN move and called for more action at the CITES talks in Johannesburg later this month.

"There, we remain hopeful the delegates will be emboldened by the IUCN vote to adopt a resolution submitted by African governments that also calls for closure of domestic ivory markets," said Samper.

"The shutting down of domestic ivory markets will send a clear signal to traffickers and organized criminal syndicates that ivory is worthless and will no longer support their criminal activities causing security problems in local communities and wiping out wildlife."

Related Article:

US, China join climate deal in 'turning point' for planet

Study sounds alarm for Africa's slow-breeding forest elephants

Yahoo – AFP, August 31, 2016

The population of Central Africa's forest elephants has been decimated by illegal
hunting, with an estimated 65 percent decline between 2002 and 2013, researchers
say (AFP Photo/Laudes Martial Mbon)

Paris (AFP) - Even without poachers, Central Africa's forest elephants would need almost a century to get their numbers back up to 2002 levels, said a study Wednesday that pried into the elusive creatures' slow-breeding ways.

The population had been decimated by illegal hunting, with an estimated 65 percent decline between 2002 and 2013, said researchers.

Roaming the tropical forests of Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Gabon and Democratic Republic of Congo, the tusker sub-species is thought to have numbered about one to two million at its peak, study co-author George Wittemyer of Colorado State University told AFP.

In 1993, the rough estimate was 500,000, and in 2013 some 100,000.

"The forest populations are reproducing now, though at a very slow rate," Wittemyer said by email.

"The problem is that poaching is removing individuals at a rate that either drives the population to decline or negates any increases due to births."

Forest elephants are smaller than savannah elephants -- the other, much better studied, African sub-species.

Their ears are more oval-shaped, while their tusks are straighter and point downward, according to environmental group WWF.

Targeted by poachers for their meat and ivory-bearing tusks, the forest elephant is categorised as "vulnerable", which means "facing a high risk of extinction in the wild," the WWF website says.

African forest elephant (AFP Photo/Laurence Chu)

Wittemyer and a team analysed data obtained from decades-long, on-sight monitoring of the births and deaths of elephants at Dzanga Bai, a park in Central African Republic.

90 years to recover

In what is claimed to be the first-ever study of forest elephant demography, they concluded the creature was a much slower breeder than its open-air cousin.

Female forest elephants only start reproducing after the age of 20, and give birth once every five to six years, the team observed.

Their cousins from the savannah, by comparison, typically start breeding at 12 and produce a calf every three to four years.

"Their reported low birth rates mean that it will take forest elephants at least 90 years to recover" from poaching losses, the researchers said in a statement.

The data suggested that what are considered sustainable levels of trade in forest elephant ivory, were calculated on the basis of overestimated population growth rates, they added.

This should be kept in mind when ivory trade limits are next debated, said the team -- crucially at a meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species which opens in Johannesburg on September 24.

Forest elephants are crucial for their environment, and many tree species rely on the giants to disperse their seeds. The trees, in turn, absorb climate-altering greenhouse gases.

US announces near-total ban on African elephant ivory trade

Yahoo – AFP, Jean-Louis Santini, June 2, 2016

The United States finalizes a near-total ban on the trade of African elephant
ivory (AFP Photo/Tony Karumba)

Washington (AFP) - The US authorities announced a near-total ban on the trade of African elephant ivory on Thursday, finalizing a years-long push to protect the endangered animals.

Conservation groups welcomed the move, which aims to reduce the slaughter of more than 35,000 of Africa's 450,000 elephants estimated to be killed each year, mainly for ivory.

"Today's bold action underscores the United States' leadership and commitment to ending the scourge of elephant poaching and the tragic impact it's having on wild populations," Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell said.

US Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, 

pictured on April 19, 2016, announced

 new rules to limit imports, exports and 

sales of African elephant ivory (AFP

Photo/Alex Wong)

But the move to restrict the African ivory market in the United States -- the world’s second-largest consumer of illegal ivory after China -- comes with notable exemptions, including for documented antiques.

The final rule, which takes effect July 6, "substantially limits" imports, exports and sales of such ivory across state lines, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) said.

While prohibiting most commerce, it does make exceptions for some "pre-existing manufactured" items, including musical instruments, furniture and firearms that contain less than 200 grams of ivory and meet other specific criteria, according to the FWS statement announcing the rule.

Antiques, as defined under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), are also exempt. "Antique" items are at least 100 years old and meet several additional requirements.

Under Thursday's final rule, the import of sport-hunted trophies is limited to two per year.

People will also be allowed to keep lawfully acquired ivory and are not banned from donating, giving away or receiving ivory as a gift "provided it was lawfully acquired and there is no exchange for other goods or services involved," the FWS said.

"Limited exceptions" to the ban on import and export of African elephant ivory will also apply to items that are part of a traveling exhibition or "are part of a household move or inheritance when specific criteria are met" as well as "ivory for law enforcement or genuine scientific purposes," the rule said.

'Blood ivory'

The new measures fulfill restrictions in an executive order on combating wildlife trafficking President Barack Obama issued in 2013, the FWS said.

Once illegal ivory enters the market, it becomes virtually impossible to tell apart from legal ivory, it said, adding that demand for elephant ivory, particularly in Asia, "is so great that it grossly outstrips the legal supply and creates a void in the marketplace that ivory traffickers are eager to fill."

Graphic showing the illegal trade in ivory in Africa (AFP Photo/Jean

Michel Cornu, Nicholas MC Anally)

The outlawed ivory trade is mostly fueled by demand in Asia and the Middle East, where elephant tusks and rhino horns are used in traditional medicine and for ornaments.

"We hope other nations will act quickly and decisively to stop the flow of blood ivory by implementing similar regulations, which are crucial to ensuring our grandchildren and their children know these iconic species," Jewell said.

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) welcomed the final rule, calling it historic and groundbreaking.

"The USA is boldly saying to ivory poachers: You are officially out of business," WCS president and chief executive Cristian Samper -- a member of an Obama task force on wildlife trafficking -- said in a statement.

Patrick Bergin, chief executive of the US-based African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), also praised the move.

"Strong laws around wildlife crime and strong enforcement of those laws are absolutely critical in deterring traffickers and poachers," he told AFP.

"All countries -- and especially those that are source, transit or destination countries for illegal wildlife products -- have a role to play in tidying their own house."

33 rescued lions flown from Peru to S. Africa

Yahoo – AFP, Moises Avila, April 30, 2016

The lions, with names such as Zeus and Shakira, were freed after the use of
wild animals in circuses was outlawed in Peru in 2011 and Colombia in 2013
(AFP Photo/Cris Bouroncle)

Lima (AFP) - More than 30 lions rescued from abuse in Peruvian and Colombian circuses were flown Friday to South Africa, in what campaigners called the largest-ever airlift of big cats.

The 33 lions, with names such as Zeus and Shakira, were freed after the use of wild animals in circuses was outlawed in Peru in 2011 and Colombia in 2013.

The Colombian circuses gave up the

 lions voluntarily but police had to launch

 raids to free the lions in Peru (AFP

Photo/Cris Bouroncle)

Saved from the lion tamer's whip, they have been rounded up with the help of authorities by Animal Defenders International (ADI), an animal rights charity.

"It's truly wonderful that these lions, after a lifetime of suffering and abuse in circuses, are going home to Africa," said the president of ADI, Jan Creamer.

"All of the lions when they arrive from the circuses have health problems, parasites, disease," she added.

"All of their lives they haven't had enough food, so they have long-term malnutrition problems."

Recent months have been spent in straw-lined cages in a refuge north of Lima, however, they have been well fed and are in generally good health, Creamer said.

Twenty-four lions rescued in Peru were driven from their temporary rescue center to Lima airport to be picked up by a cargo plane that brought another nine over from Colombia.

Late Friday, the airlift took off, transporting the big cats to their new life.

"We are on our way!" read a post on the ADI website.

"The 33 lions are on board the ADI Spirit Of Freedom Flight, on route to their wonderful new lives at Emoya Big Cat Sanctuary, South Africa."

Graphic, including map, illustrating how lions from circuses in Peru and

 Colombia are to be released into a game park in South Africa (AFP Photo/

Tamara Hoha)

The contingent of big cats includes Shakira, named after the Colombian pop singer. Her minders say she likes to play with a tire and eat watermelons.

From one of 10 Peruvian circuses comes "Ricardo, the one-eyed lion" and from another "Joseph, the almost-blind lion."

'Heading home to paradise'

Together, the 33 were to take a 15-hour flight to South Africa in travel cages inside the plane chartered by ADI.

They will arrive on Saturday in Johannesburg and be taken on to the Emoya Big Cat Sanctuary in the north of the country.

"The lions will be in their natural habitat for the first time in their lives," Creamer said. "They should fit right into that habitat. It's the best environment for them."

ADI says it is the biggest transfer of such large captive animals ever.

Workers carry a cage containing a former circus lion at the El Dorado Airport

 in Bogota, Colombia, April 29, 2016. Nine former circus lions will be taken to the

 Emoya Big Cat Sanctuary in South Africa where ADI (Animal Defenders 

International) officials said they will enjoy natural enclosures with drinking

pools, platforms and toys. Reuters/John Vizcaino

In the circuses the lions were poorly fed and trucked around in cages, the group said. The Colombian circuses gave up the nine lions voluntarily but police had to launch raids to free the lions in Peru.

The rescuers say that one of the Peru contingent, Smith, attacked a teacher from a school party when she was invited into his cage by a lion tamer.

"Almost all of the rescued lions have been mutilated to remove their claws, one has lost an eye, another is almost blind, and many have smashed and broken teeth so would not survive in the wild," ADI said in a statement.

At their new home, "the lions will enjoy large natural enclosures situated in pristine African bush, complete with drinking pools, platforms and toys," it added.

"The lion habitats will be steadily expanded over the coming months as the lions become familiar with their new life and are introduced to each other."

The cost of the transfer is $10,000 per cat, ADI said.

"These lions have endured hell on earth," Creamer said.

"Now they are heading home to paradise."

As the final lion boarded, we were ready to fly! https://t.co/saoaOdVjMh #lionsbacktoAfrica pic.twitter.com/2ZStgRJnEn

— ADI (@AnimalDefenders) April 29, 2016

Related Article:

Abused circus lions flown to new home in South African bush

#SpiritOfFreedomFlight is cleared for takeoff and we're off! Simba is taking a nap! https://t.co/saoaOdVjMh pic.twitter.com/eVrUB9Yq6Q

— ADI (@AnimalDefenders) April 29, 2016

South Africa puts year-long ban on leopard hunting

Yahoo – AFP, January 25, 2016

A leopard sneaks out from the bush at the Born Free Foundation on May 12,
2010 in the Shamwari Game Reserve (AFP Photo/Gianluigi Guercia)

Johannesburg (AFP) - South Africa has imposed a year-long ban on leopard hunting in 2016 in a decision hailed Monday by conservation activists.

"Provincial conservation authorities were informed that leopard hunts should not be authorised in 2016," the Department of Environmental Affairs said, adding that the ban would be reviewed at the end of the year.

The department said it was acting on recommendations from South Africa's Scientific Authority, which had suggested an intervention to ensure the survival of the leopard population.

Under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), South Africa can allocate 150 permits each year for the trophy-hunting of leopards destined for export.

The size of South Africa's leopard population remains a mystery.

"We just don't know how leopards are faring in South Africa," said Guy Balme of environmental group Panthera.

"They're secretive, mainly nocturnal, solitary and range over huge areas," he explained.

Conservation groups hailed the year-long ban, saying it was crucial to protecting the species given that the size of the population is unknown.

"Until we know population numbers and carrying capacity we should not hunt them," said Andrew Muir of the Wilderness Foundation.

Kelly Marnewick, carnivore conservation manager at the Environmental Wildlife Trust, added: "It's important to ensure that any wildlife trade we do is sustainable.

"If we can't do that, it's highly problematical. We need a trade ban until we can get to that."

The mismanagement of trophy hunting and the illegal trade in leopard fur are the main threats to South Africa's population of the big cat, according to the government.

Dignitaries from South Africa's Zulu community traditionally wear animal skins for ceremonies, particularly leopard fur.

South Africa earns substantial revenues from selling permits to wealthy foreigners willing to pay thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars to hunt one of the "big five" (lion, leopard, elephant, rhino or buffalo).

Hunting generates some 6.2 million rand ($375 million/347 million euros) for South Africa every year, according to the environment ministry.