Canned lion hunting growing

2008-09-17 19:16

Cape Town - The fact that more than 700 lions were killed in South Africa by foreign hunters last year is a sign the canned hunting industry is growing fast, Animal Rights Africa (ARA) warned on Wednesday.

"The general public, both local and international, cannot be criticised for thinking canned hunting is a thing of the past," the non-governmental organisation said in a statement.

"But nothing can be further from the truth. Far from being controlled, the canned hunting industry... is growing exponentially," it said.

It was reacting to a recent written reply by Environment Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk to a parliamentary question, in which he said a total of 702 lions were "hunted by foreign clients in each province in 2007".

The majority, 637, were killed in North West province.

ARA said this meant "that since 2005, the number of lions killed by the canned predator industry has doubled".

Last year, Van Schalkwyk announced regulations aimed at "putting an end, once and for all, to the reprehensible practice of canned hunting".

Promulgation of the regulations was subsequently delayed to February this year and has since been held up by legal action instituted by the hunting industry.

Contacted on Tuesday, the Department of Environmental Affairs was not immediately able to comment on the matter.

According to Van Schalkwyk's reply, foreign hunters last year also hunted and killed - among other animals - 27 elephant, 56 hippo and 156 white rhino.

Also included on the list of hunted species were 15 yellow mongoose, a scrub and grasslands mammal that weighs about 500g, four aardwolf and 370 vervet monkeys.

- SAPA