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Vote
against canned lion hunting now!
The
SanWild Wildlife Trust
February
04, 2005
An independent
national SMS vote line has been launched in South Africa for the
benefit of the general public who would like to take part and get
involved with a public participation process that is needed before
the draft policy for the sustainable use of large predators can
be incorporated into the Biodiversity Bill. This SMS vote line has
been made available to accommodate the public at large and to give
everyone the opportunity to voice his or her opinion. Results will
be audited by independent auditors and will be submitted to the
Department of Environmental Affairs in due course.
(The
SMS vote line should not be seen to replace the written comments
that must be submitted to the Department of Environmental Affairs,
but merely as an additional independent poll that will allow for
a broader public participation).
The policy was
published in Government Gazette No 27214 on the 28th
January 2005 for public participation and the general public and
members of animal rights and welfare groups have until the 15th
March 2005 to submit their written comments and suggestions to the
Department of Environmental Affairs. Copies of this policy is available
electronically free of charge from The SanWild Wildlife Trust. Kindly
send your email address to sanwild@pixie.co.za
to be added to the mailing list.
The SanWild
Wildlife Trust has urged members of the public to get involved in
this process or accept that canned lion hunting will continue to
grow in South Africa at an alarming rate. The draft policy also
intends bringing in other large predators into the equation and
will allow the captive breeding and hunting of highly endangered
species such as cheetahs, wild dogs, leopards and spotted and brown
hyenas.
Although the
public does not generally know it, commercial captive breeding projects
already exist for other large predators. On the same day the draft
policy was printed in the Government Gazette Landbou Weekblad featured
and advert from Letsatsi La Afrika advertising 6 spotted hyenas
for sale at a whopping price of R20 000 per animal. Telephone enquiries
the day after the magazine was available on book shelves indicated
that all 6 spotted hyena had already been sold. The seller also
offered small predators such as bat eared foxes and baby caracals
along with lions ranging from 8 weeks old to 7 years.
The SanWild
Wildlife Trust has set up an information line and any member of
the public can email louise@sanwild.org
or sanwild@pixie.co.za
to be put on this mailing list. Regular updates and information
regarding the draft policy will be distributed. Concerned conservationist
and members of the tourism community have analyzed the policy and
detailed information will be sent to subscribers on the mailing
list.
There is a growing
concern amongst many South Africans that the policy in its current
form is greatly flawed and that it will be impossible for the Department
of Environmental Affairs to enforce and police the policy.
The SanWild
Wildlife Trust believes that the DEAT’s inability to deal with the
canned lion breeding and hunting industry since the Cooke Report
exposed canned hunting in South Africa in 1997 is no excuse to legalize
and expand this sordid segment of the South African hunting industry.
If the policy is passed South Africans should accept that conservation
in this country is not take seriously by the authorities and that
the overriding factor in conservation will be become commercial
gain and that the true ethos of conservation will be lost for future
generations.
You can voice
your support for or objections against the draft policy by sending
your SMS answer to the following question:
"Should
large predators be bred in captivity for hunting purposes"?
Please answer
either "Yes" or "No"
Please SMS
your answers to 35786 - Cost is R3.00 per SMS.
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