South Africa Bans Leopard Hunting for One Year

A ban on the hunting of leopard in South Africa has been imposed by the Department of Environment Affairs for the rest of 2016, and it will then reassess the situation, according to news reports.

The department said that conservation authorities in the various provinces were told that leopard hunts should not be authorised in 2016, and that the situation would be reviewed t the end of the year, the reports said.

“Now this is really great news and a fantastic reprieve for leopards that are under just so much pressure from the trophy hunting sector,” said conservationist Louise Joubert on her Facebook page.

The Department of Environment Affairs said it was acting on recommendations from South Africa’s scientific authority, which had suggested an intervention to ensure the survival of the leopard population.

Hunting generates some $375 million a year for South Africa, according to news reports, although is coming under more and more pressure from conservationists, especially inside the country. The practice of canned hunting in particular has come under the spotlight in recent years, where lions bred in captivity – and often raised in petting facilities – are hunted in closed conditions, giving the animal no chance of escape.