South Africa Withholds 2016 Leopard Hunting Permits

[JamesJ]

Just wanted to share this with everyone, if you have a leopard booked into RSA this year, you should contact your outfitter immediately.

By the time DSC show commenced all registered RSA outfitters were notified of the permit situation and PHASA was at the show making sure outfitters were not selling leopard hunts in South Africa.

All credit for the article goes to the Hunting Report.


South Africa Withholds 2016 Leopard Hunting Permits


No leopard hunting will be possible in The Republic of South Africa (RSA) for 2016. That's because South Africa's Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) has withheld the quota and no hunting licenses will be issued. The de facto closure is due to a recommendation by DEA's scientific department, the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI).

The Hunting Report learned of this development from Stan Burger, president of PHASA (Professional Hunters' Association of South Africa) and Tharia Unwin, CEO of PHASA. Burger says SANBI believes South Africa's leopard population is in decline but has not presented any research to support that conclusion. Another reason DEA gave to withhold the quota is that the North West Province failed to provide any of the required information for the DEA to make a nondetriment finding in their leopard offtake.

Burger says PHASA is seeking legal action to overturn the DEA's decision. He says the agency used only the input of an outside conservation organization that is devoted to the preservation of wild cats, and did not seek input from PHASA or other groups. If and when permits are issued again, we will notify subscribers via an Email Extra Bulletin.

If you have already booked a leopard hunt for this year, be aware that your operator has no leopard permit for 2016 and will not receive one unless DEA's decision is overturned. We will have a more detailed report in the coming February issue of The Hunting Report. - Barbara Crown, Editor-in-Chief

 

[CAustin]

Thank you for the heads up!

 

[LivingTheDream]

Man this is depressing. I can't believe how outfitters feel or some poor guy who saved years to do this hunt. Hopefully this gets resolved soon.

 

[lcq]

When I was there last year my outfitter said rumors were swirling about cutting back on permits. Looks even worse now.

 

[AfricaHunting.com]

Thank you James.

When I was there last year my outfitter said rumors were swirling about cutting back on permits. Looks even worse now.

Here is from last October… Leopard hunts may be further restricted in RSA: http://www.africahunting.com/threads/leopard-hunts-may-be-further-restricted-in-rsa.24455/

 

[lcq]

Thank you James.



Here is from last October… Leopard hunts may be further restricted in RSA: http://www.africahunting.com/threads/leopard-hunts-may-be-further-restricted-in-rsa.24455/

I was there in May

 

[AfricaHunting.com]

I'm very surprised that PHASA has not said a word about it… perhaps not surprised but I would have imagined that making a public announcement would have been the correct step to take.

 

[James.Grage]

Thank you James for sharing...

Interesting...

 

[Hank2211]

So no lions to the US and no leopards to anywhere this year. I would say that South Africa stands to lose some money.

 

[JTT]

Had heard of this coming. Wouldn't be surprised if USFWS doesn't join in and cause troubles as well, that's why I just booked a leopard hunt in Namibia.

 

[enysse]

I don't see how this is going to help any leopards out........

 

[BRICKBURN]

I don't see how this is going to help any leopards out........

If they would actually do some counts/research and focus on the illegal hunting there would be plenty of opportunity to sustainably hunt Leopard in RSA.
RSA does not even come close to their CITES quota in a year.

 

[WildRose]

More blind ignorance by the anti hunting crowd. This will do nothing to "save the leopards" all it will do if this becomes permanent is to ensure a rapid decline in the species as landowners no long have any financial interest in allowing predators that feed on their livestock and other domestic animals to continue living on their lands.

Legal, controlled hunting is the only way to ensure the success of any species deemed a "game animal", particularly the predators which are constantly threatening private property and people.

 

[enysse]

If they would actually do some counts/research and focus on the illegal hunting there would be plenty of opportunity to sustainably hunt Leopard in RSA.
RSA does not even come close to their CITES quota in a year.

If there is no wildlife research being done in Africa soon, USA hunters will be hunting plains game soon. And even then I can see the anti-hunter government say well, "these animals never existed historically here, so they can't be imported either".

 

[LivingTheDream]

If there is no wildlife research being done in Africa soon, USA hunters will be hunting plains game soon. And even then I can see the anti-hunter government say well, "these animals never existed historically here, so they can't be imported either".

I have heard that so much from so called biologists that we need to get things back its natural state. It is amazing how much these biologists know sitting behind a desk all day.

 

[WildRose]

If we want to go back to a "natural state" the first thing we'd have to do is remove about 5 billion people from the planet and eliminate all of the advancements in medicine, technology, energy etc made over the last five hundred years or so.

Of course if you eliminated the billions of dollars hunting brings to the continent the natural states of cyclic famine, wide spread starvation, repeated outbreaks of horrible diseases and the wars that then follow would go a long ways towards cutting the human population back to a "sustainable level".

You can't turn the clock back without bringing all of the problems of the past back into the future.

I can hunt almost every single species available in Africa here in Texas but I want a truly "African Experience" rather than just shooting animals and without the hunting my dollars will not be spent in Africa.

I don't think it's much of a stretch to say that most of us feel the same way.

Hunting pays for conservation and without us many species would be doomed to the history books in short order.