Leopard situation in South Africa

[Beans]

Just saw this on the PHASA page on facebook and decided to share it on the forum


Professional Hunters' Association of South Africa

LEOPARD: PHASA wishes to bring to its members and the public's attention that there is NO ‘ban’ on leopard hunting.
CITES allocated 150 leopard tags to South Africa for 2016. The South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) however advised the Minister of Environmental Affairs not to issue leopard quota for the current year.

This advice was based on SANBI’s Non Detrimental Finding (NDF) that there are simply too many uncertainties about the actual health of SA’s leopard population to advise the Minister otherwise. DEA's announcement of zero leopard quota for 2016 is therefore an adaptive management measurement.

DEA and SANBI expressed the wish to engage both the professional hunting and wildlife ranching industry to assist in the drafting of norms and standards and embark on a coherent approach to get national monitoring and leopard management systems in place.

Professional hunters and landowners are invited to share historic data, fixed camera-trap photos, GPS coordinates, proof of illegal off-takes and any other useful information that can assist in establishing the sustainability of future leopard off-take, to PHASA.

PHASA intends to do everything within its power and means to get leopard quota reinstated in 2017.

 

[Royal27]

PHASA wishes to bring to its members and the public's attention that there is NO ‘ban’ on leopard hunting.
CITES allocated 150 leopard tags to South Africa for 2016. The South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) however advised the Minister of Environmental Affairs not to issue leopard quota for the current year.

Interesting....

Isn't this just semantics?

Call it what they will, there won't be leopard hunting in SA this year. I wish PHASA luck on this one and hope that they saw it coming and are well on their way to providing the needed data. It is pretty obvious that the "quota issuance issue" is not fact based.

Here is to science and fact prevailing....

 

[kathy]

Thanks for sharing, sounds good to me. Forrest

 

[Beans]

I hope they do better with the Leopards than what they did for Lions in South Africa

 

[enysse]

Not to sound skeptical here but RSA has been angling in this direction for years and now they act. For how much leopard hunts go for they were protected to a degree but now I'm not so certain. And unless they have a guideline or written plan on information they are looking for or need I look at this in a unpleasant view. I say that because I always thought RSA was VERY CONSERVATIVE in their quotas, they could have hunted more leopards.

 

[BRICKBURN]

..............

.

DEA and SANBI expressed the wish to engage both the professional hunting and wildlife ranching industry to assist in the drafting of norms and standards and embark on a coherent approach to get national monitoring and leopard management systems in place.

Professional hunters and landowners are invited to share historic data, fixed camera-trap photos, GPS coordinates, proof of illegal off-takes and any other useful information that can assist in establishing the sustainability of future leopard off-take, to PHASA.
....................

Yeah, data to make an educated determination.

SA is the first place I ever heard the phrase, "We must make a plan!"

Good idea.

 

[siml]

Professional hunters and landowners are invited to share historic data, fixed camera-trap photos, GPS coordinates, proof of illegal off-takes and any other useful information that can assist in establishing the sustainability of future leopard off-take, to PHASA.

Proof of illegal off-takes????? Thats a strange one...

 

[Wheels]

Proof of illegal off-takes????? Thats a strange one...

Should SANBI and DEA ask Zuma where he got his leopard?




What about the men at his church?

 

[enysse]

Proof of illegal leopards.......thanks Wheels, I don't want to even know the number.

 

[Petrus Geldenhuys]

Thanks for the info, this is going to be a very interesting debate to follow. Zuma show us your permit!

 

[Luis]

Interesting....

Isn't this just semantics?

Call it what they will, there won't be leopard hunting in SA this year. I wish PHASA luck on this one and hope that they saw it coming and are well on their way to providing the needed data. It is pretty obvious that the "quota issuance issue" is not fact based.

Here is to science and fact prevailing....

Don´t get an easy conclussion on this matter? Is hunting leopards banned or not this and next years in SA?

 

[Royal27]

Don´t get an easy conclussion on this matter? Is hunting leopards banned or not this and next years in SA?

Currently no leopard hunting for 2016, with 2017 still TBD.

 

[billc]

This equals a ban on hunting leopard for 2016 no matter how you want to word it. I guess phasa must not have been in the loop with this group who could just shut it down. I just keep finding it funny how they always say there working with everyone and this stuff keeps happening with out them knowing.

Just another step down the path of bad things happening this year to stop hunting. Now we have a wild cat that cant be hunted in SA to go along with the raised cats. Anyone picking up on the shit storm we have coming no matter if it is raised or a so called wild animal.You dont think the usfws is taking note of this and will be asking questions if it opens up again.

 

[LivingTheDream]

This equals a ban on hunting leopard for 2016 no matter how you want to word it. I guess phasa must not have been in the loop with this group who could just shut it down. I just keep finding it funny how they always say there working with everyone and this stuff keeps happening with out them knowing.

Just another step down the path of bad things happening this year to stop hunting. Now we have a wild cat that cant be hunted in SA to go along with the raised cats. Anyone picking up on the shit storm we have coming no matter if it is raised or a so called wild animal.You dont think the usfws is taking note of this and will be asking questions if it opens up again.

Billc you are spot on USFW has 1 year to cause havoc before there is a change. The best way to have hunters not focus on Lions is to move to something else quickly so we lose focus. Leopards make logically sense since this is the last of the big cats that doesn't asinine restrictions. Overall, we are definitely under attack.

 

[Hank2211]

Professional hunters and landowners are invited to share historic data, fixed camera-trap photos, GPS coordinates, proof of illegal off-takes and any other useful information that can assist in establishing the sustainability of future leopard off-take, to PHASA.

The problem with this is that all of this "data" - I wouldn't call it "evidence" is and will be purely anecdotal, no matter how much of it you collect. To get an accurate picture of how many of anything you have out there requires the use of established survey methods and data collection practices. Anything short of that wouldn't - and likely shouldn't - impress anyone charged with making important decisions.

I certainly hope that PHASA and others are able to get this "ban" lifted in the near term - but frankly, to ensure there is no ban in future, and to ensure the continued availability of the CITES quota, the real work needs to be done.

 

[siml]

When the DEA closed leopard for 2016, I was asked by many hunters what's the situation? So I asked many outfitters their opinions on the leopard situation.

This was the response I received....

- DEA asked for pictures of past leopard hunted....they were not supplied with the pictures AND info.
-DEA didn't submit paperwork to CITIES.

This is the real reason I have been given....bunch of bad apples in NW and Limpopo ...females, juveniles..lack of GPS coords and no photos supplied. to DEA.

 

[BRICKBURN]

When the DEA closed leopard for 2016, I was asked by many hunters what's the situation? So I asked many outfitters their opinions on the leopard situation.

This was the response I received....

- DEA asked for pictures of past leopard hunted....they were not supplied with the pictures AND info.
-DEA didn't submit paperwork to CITIES.

This is the real reason I have been given....bunch of bad apples in NW and Limpopo ...females, juveniles..lack of GPS coords and no photos supplied. to DEA.

They should be getting compliance after shutting it down.
With the message: If you don't take them seriously you do so at your own peril.

 

[billc]

Simon who did they ask for the info. Was it the outfitters who had the tags or were they dealing with phasa and hoping they could get the info for them. What a shame if it was shut down because of some missing paperwork.

Anyone in Sa that I talked to has said there is way more leopard around then anyone would think.

 

[siml]

@BRICKBURN , I totally agree with, outfitters need to take DEA seriously and do the paperwork and not try point fingers.

 

[siml]

@billc , I agree there are plenty leopard in SA. I am sure PHASA will take the situation seriously and it will be resolved by 2017.