PHASA POSITION PAPER ON LION HUNTING, 05/12/2013 Page 1 of 7
5 December 2013
POSITION PAPER ON LION HUNTING
This position paper has been updated and replaces any previous versions sent.
PHASA strongly opposes any form of “canned” hunting and will discipline any of its
members who participate in such an activity. PHASA will continue to work with
government and law enforcement agencies, as it has done in the past, to eradicate this
practice. This position was re-affirmed at the PHASA AGM in 2013.
LION HUNTING - PHASA’S HISTORICAL POSITION
Historically PHASA’s view on the hunting of captive bred lions was covered by our general
policy on hunting:
PHASA supports the responsible hunting of all species in a sustainable extensive
wildlife system that can fend for themselves, provided that such species are hunted
according to the laws of the land and the PHASA Code of Conduct.
Developments regarding captive-bred lion hunting, however, necessitated a review of
PHASA’s position on the matter. These included the South African Predators Association
(SAPA) winning their appeal against the Minister of Environmental Affairs, effectively ending
any attempts by the Government to prohibit the hunting of captive-bred lions in the
foreseeable future; continued strong growth in demand for lion hunting; and the
involvement of unethical practices in captive-bred hunting.
In this light and accepting the fact that captive-bred hunting was here to stay, PHASA
resolved at its 2011 AGM to enter into a dialogue with SAPA to improve the conditions in
which lions are reared and hunted. It further resolved at that AGM that it would be an
abdication of its duties to simply distance itself from the practice while ignoring continued
unethical practices taking place in captive-bred hunting.
Over a two-year period PHASA has assisted SAPA to draft a strong set of Norms that PHASA
believes is one of the starting points to ensure that captive-bred lion hunting is done
responsibly.
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LION HUNTING - PHASA’S CURRENT POSITION
PHASA concurs with the South African government’s position that the breeding of lions in
captivity does not threaten our wild lion populations or bio-diversity conservation and that
the hunting of such lions is sustainable.
PHASA acknowledges that the hunting of captive bred lions will, for the foreseeable future,
remain part of the South African hunting industry. PHASA believes that it is imperative that
such hunting should be done in a responsible manner and that such hunts must at all times,
comply with nature conservation laws and conform to the PHASA Code of Conduct and other
policies.
Accordingly, PHASA accepts, as the MINIMUM norms for such hunting by its members, the
Norms and Standards as set out in the “POLICY DOCUMENT: Norms and Standards for
hunting ranch lions in South Africa” as adopted by the South African Predators Association at
its AGM on 16 November 2013.
LION HUNTING IN SOUTH AFRICA – THE CURRENT SITUATION
South Africa is currently the continent’s top lion hunting destination. In 2012 lion hunting
generated in excess of R121 million in direct spending. The funds generated by lion hunting
contribute to the maintenance of extensive wildlife systems, natural habitat rehabilitation
and the consequent conservation of the other species found in those areas.
South Africa is home to 2 700 wild lions, among the continent’s largest populations, and a
further 5 000 captive bred lions. At a combined total of 7 700 lions, South Africa is second
only to Tanzania, a country which is home to 16 800 lions and which also recognises the
importance of lion hunting to its conservation efforts. Like Tanzania, South Africa is one of a
few African countries where lion population numbers are stable and on the increase.
It is worth noting that the countries showing the most alarming decrease in lion population
numbers are those where lion hunting is prohibited such as Kenya and Botswana. In fact
following a blanket ban on all commercial hunting activities in Kenya in the late Seventies,
Kenya’s wildlife population has decreased dramatically with some experts estimating the
wildlife loss in that country at close to 80%.
Local and international media often confuse canned hunting with captive-bred hunting. The
practice of canned hunting is illegal in South Africa and prohibited by PHASA’s code of
conduct. A “canned” hunt is defined as when the animal is hunted in an enclosure small
enough to prohibit it from evading the hunter, or when the animal is hunted while
tranquilised.
Captive bred animals, on the other hand, may legally be hunted after they are released into
an extensive wildlife system and then subjected to a release period so that the animal can
rehabilitate itself to its new surroundings. The hunt would then take place in accordance
with legislation and PHASA’s code of conduct.
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Legislation governing trophy hunting is extensive with the following permits needed for it to
take place legally:
a provincial hunting permit (which would, among other requirements, expressly
prohibit canned hunting practices as described earlier), a national TOPS (Threatened
and Protected Species) permit and a CITES permit for the exportation of the trophy.
Hunting of captive bred lions is sustainable and not a threat to bio-diversity conservation.
PHASA strongly opposes any practices that in any way threaten bio-diversity conservation.
Additionally, given the threat that certain lion populations outside South Africa face, it
cannot at this time be excluded that captive bred lions may in the future play a role in lion
conservation elsewhere.
THE MELISSA BACHMAN INCIDENT
We have no reason to believe that Ms Bachman’s hunt did not comply with national and
provincial legislation. We have also asked the hunting outfitter and professional hunter who
respectively arranged and oversaw the safari and they have said that Ms Bachman’s hunt
conformed to PHASA’s code of conduct including the principle of a “fair chase”. Local and
international media have wrongly claimed Ms Bachman’s safari to be a canned hunting
expedition.
Ms Bachman’s only crime seems to be her posting her trophy photos on a public platform.
We believe she should have anticipated the public fallout this would have created given the
emotional attachment people have to iconic animals such as lions.
It is regrettable that such an incident should overshadow the significant contribution hunting
has had on South Africa’s remarkable conservation success story. Hunters are first and
foremost conservationists and it’s worth noting that a professional hunter license is the
highest guide and ranger qualification one can get in Southern Africa. Our members spend
most of the year tracking game and their on-the-ground knowledge and perspective of our
wildlife is unparalleled.
THE WAY FORWARD
PHASA views the SAPA norms as a stepping-stone to clean up the captive-bred lion hunting
industry. PHASA does not believe that those norms are the final word on the hunting of
lions.
PHASA will always strongly advise its members to set the standards for hunting even higher.
In this regard PHASA is in the process of further dialogue with SAPA.
PHASA believes that the hunting of captive bred lions MUST result in direct funding for
conservation and research programmes in respect of wild lions. PHASA furthermore believes
that such hunting MUST contribute to social upliftment projects, especially in our poorer
rural communities. PHASA has, through its Conservation and Empowerment Fund, a proud
and phenomenal history in these fields and will use its expertise to make a meaningful
contribution. PHASA is in the process of discussing such funding with SAPA and is also
looking at such projects on its own.
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PHASA welcomes working with all stakeholders to develop a coherent approach to the longterm
future of our wildlife and natural areas.
PHASA is a dynamic association that continues to monitor developments. PHASA will do the
same with the lion hunting industry and from time to time review its position.
CONTEXT, BACKGROUND AND HUNTING IN GENERAL
Hunting, sustainable use and bio-diversity conservation
With an estimated 19 000 white rhinos in South Africa, representing around 90% of the
world’s total rhino population, few people are aware that trophy hunting played a pivotal
role in the expansion of rhino across South Africa and many people consider trophy hunting
one of the biggest contributors in bringing the white rhino back from the brink of extinction.
During the early Sixties leading conservationists recognised that for rhino numbers to
increase, their habitat had to grow beyond that of the few provincial parks where they
occurred and that an economic incentive was needed for landowners to keep rhino on their
property
In order to achieve this rhino was put back on the hunting list which, thanks to the large
amount of money hunters were prepared to pay for the privilege, resulted in rhino
populations ballooning. This was the beginning of South Africa’s remarkable conservation
success story.
Thanks to legislation allowing for the private ownership of game and limited, sustainable
trophy hunting, the total head of game in South Africa soared from around 500 000 in the
early Sixties to some 20 million today, of which 16 million are privately owned. At the same
time private game reserves in the country increased from only four in the Sixties to an
estimated 10 000, covering an estimated 20.5 million hectares of land. In comparison, all
South Africa’s national and state parks comprise only 7.5 million hectares.
To put it into perspective: private enterprise owns three times more land dedicated to
wildlife and four-fifths of all the game, managed under very successful and effective
conservation programmes, than all the state-owned parks and reserves combined. Game has
overtaken cattle, which now number only some 14 million, and vast tracts of land have been
reclaimed from livestock-rearing and agricultural use for wildlife conservation. This is
unheard of anywhere else in the world and it is almost entirely due to trophy hunting.
Additionally, due to the demand by trophy hunters, species such as the bontebok, black
wildebeest, roan antelope and sable, which were once very scarce, have been successfully
reintroduced to areas where they had become locally extinct.
Policy of leading conservation bodies on sustainable use
Most leading conservation bodies (as opposed to animal rights and welfare groups) consider
controlled, sustainable and legal trophy hunting as a valuable conservation tool. These
include the Convention for the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and the
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the latter being the world’s first
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global environmental organisation and the largest professional international conservation
network.
What follows is an extract from the IUCN’s sustainable use policy statement:
Conservation of biological diversity is central to the mission of IUCN, and accordingly IUCN
recommends that decisions of whether to use, or not to use, wild living resources should be
consistent with this aim.
Both consumptive and non-consumptive use of biological diversity are fundamental to the
economies, cultures, and well-being of all nations and peoples.
Use, if sustainable, can serve human needs on an ongoing basis while contributing to the
conservation of biological diversity.
Position of the South African government
Trophy hunting is legal in South Africa and the activity is endorsed and fully supported by the
Department of Environmental Affairs, among others, as a vital component of the country’s
overall wildlife conservation strategy.
Tourism, of which trophy hunting forms an important part, is a priority economic sector in
the government’s Medium-Term Strategic Framework, which identifies, among others, the
following overall priorities:
Creating decent work and sustainable livelihoods
Rural development, food security and land reform
Building cohesive and sustainable communities
Furthermore, South Africa’s New Growth Plan identifies tourism as one of the six core pillars
of growth. The Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP2) indicates that tourism is one of the areas
expected to contribute to the development of, among others, rural areas by growing the
economy and creating jobs.
Hunting and the economy
Preliminary figures for 2012 indicate that hunting alone contributed R6,7 billion to the South
African GDP. Live game sales generated a further R1 billion. These figures do not take into
account capital expenditure and other value chain contributions (e.g. taxidermy, hotels,
shopping, side trips etc.). The value chain sustained 140,000 jobs. Approximately 9,000
overseas hunters visit South Africa every year, each spending on average R140,000.
Hunting and communities
Rural communities in Africa benefit directly from controlled, legal trophy hunting. These
benefits include direct revenue receipts (license and concession fees), infrastructure
developments (schools, roads, clinics, etc.) paid for by hunting companies, job creation and
skills transfer and improved food security (through the provision of meat and crop protection
against problem animals).
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Most hunting in South Africa takes place on private land and as such does not affect local
communities to the same extent as in other parts of Africa. PHASA acknowledges that it
needs to substantially increase the direct benefits that rural communities receive from
hunting and is through its Conservation and Empowerment Fund in the process of addressing
this issue through its Conservation and Empowerment Fund.
Hunting and Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment
Trophy hunting in particular is an excellent vehicle to drive BBBEE in the professional hunting
and wildlife industries through training, skills development and education. PHASA
acknowledges the critical importance of transformation, particularly in poor, rural
communities. PHASA has, over the past six years, raised in excess of R10 million for the
training of approximately 1,250 students from previously disadvantaged communities.
Photographic tourism
Non-consumptive photographic eco-tourism has been highly promoted as an alternative to
hunting but the reality is that this sector is already saturated. Non-consumptive eco-tourism
is also not commercially viable in large parts of Africa given that photographic eco-tourism is
dependent on high densities of game (visitors want to see the Big Five in only a day or two)
as well as scenic beauty.
HUNTING - ETHICS AND MORALITY
The concepts of ethics and morals are often confused. While, both relate to “right” and
“wrong” conduct, morals are subjective and differ from culture to culture as well as from
person to person. Ethics, however, refer to a set of rules applied by external sources such as
laws, traditions, customs and professional codes of conduct.
PHASA’s job is not to prescribe morals. PHASA’s duty is to ensure that hunting is done in a
responsible, lawful and sustainable manner.
PHASA recognises that there are, from a philosophical and academic perspective, arguments
on both sides of the spectrum insofar as the morality of hunting is concerned. PHASA
furthermore respects every individual’s choice not to partake in any activity, including
hunting, with which he or she may not feel comfortable.
The animal rights/animal welfare movements (as opposed to true conservation bodies)
approach the morality of hunting largely from the perspective of their own emotions and the
individual animal while ignoring the indisputable evidence that most conservation success
stories are by and large the result of sustainable utilization programmes.
Hunters could counter-argue that it is immoral to put the interest of individual animals above
that of the species, eco-systems, overall wildlife populations and rural communities. This
counter-argument is particularly potent considering that wildlife would be confined to our
national parks and a few private reserves if hunting practices were prohibited.
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“… hunting is moral if it contributes to man’s welfare, the welfare of the ecosystem. To refer
once again to Whitehead’s remark, hunting is moral if it is in the end life-sustaining.”
Professor Theodore Vitali, quoting Alfred North Whitehead, one of the most respected 20th
Century philosophers.
Queries: We are happy to field any queries and can be reached by email at
ceo@phasa.co.za
or telephonically on +27 12 667 2048.
Hermann Meyeridricks (Ms) Adri Kitshoff
President Chief Executive Officer
