Die leeujagbedryf het vanjaar wêreldwyd opskrifte gehaal ná die Amerikaner, Walter James Palmer, tot groot omstredenheid Cecil die Leeu in Zimbabwe geskiet het.

Op eie bodem het die dokumentêr Blood Lions die tonge laat klap. Hierin word daar gewys hoe leeus in haglike omstandighede leef én mishandel word. Geblikte leeujag lok ook groot omstredenheid uit met meer as 1000 leeus wat jaarliks op hierdie wyse geskiet word.

Kenners is dit eens: Dit is tyd om die leeubedryf in orde te kry. Daarom het die South African Predator Breeding Association (SAPBA) vir Prof Melville Saayman en sy span by TREES (Tourism Research in Economic Environs and Society) by die Noordwes-Universiteit se Potchefstroomkampus genader om na die waarde van die leeubedryf in Suid-Afrika te kyk. Dié studie, wat meestal op die hoofteelareas van Noordwes en Vrystaat gefokus gaan wees, gaan ook kyk hoeveel leeus daar in die bedryf is, want syfers wissel tussen 4000 en 6000.

“? Verbod op jag in Zimbabwe en die gepaardgaande verlies van inkomste vir Zimbabwiërs beteken dat sowat 2.3 miljoen kinders nou van nodige hulpmiddele ontneem is. Dit beteken dat die onderwyssektor daaronder ly, dit beteken dat brood uit hul borde geneem word. Dit beteken dat 2.3 miljoen kinders slegter daartoe af is en hul klaar lae lewensgehalte nóg verswak het oor ? ondeurdagte besluit deur die regering,” sê Saayman.

“Ons sien klaar dat stropery toeneem en ons sien reeds dat werkloosheid toeneem. Dit is nie ? gesonde situasie nie.”
Volgens Saayman het die Blood Lions dokumentêr die bedryf se prentjie ietwat skeef getrek, maar ook daarin geslaag om die kollig op misdrywe, wat uitgewis moet word, te plaas.

“Blood Lions het ? slegte indruk oor die bedryf geskep en een van ons uitdagings gaan wees om dit reg te stel. Daar is ongewenste praktyke wat die hele bedryf skade aandoen. Dit kan egter slegs aan ? paar persone toegeskryf word, maar dit ly tog daartoe dat daar wanpersepsies oor die bedryf geskep word. Daar is een of twee vrot appels in die leeuhok.”

Saayman sê verder dat Suid-Afrika se leeupopulasie ver daarvan is om gevaarligte te laat flikker, maar meer kan gedoen word om leeus effektief te versprei asook beter te benut.

“Ons gaan ook kyk waarheen gaan die oorskot leeus heen want daar moet gekyk word wat sal die beste vir die mark wees. Sommige van die leeus moet terug parke toe gaan en sommiges moet aan nuwe gebiede voorgestel word om die genepoel te verbeter. Ons het ? gesonde getal leeus in die land en danksy ons teelprogramme sit ons nie met ? gevaarsituasie nie, maar ons moet kyk na wat met die oorskot leeus gebeur,” verduidelik hy.

“Daar is verskeie moontlikhede wat die oorskot leeus betref. Hulle kan ? opvoedkundige doel dien, hulle kan ? groot rol in ekotoerisme speel, soos om met leeus te stap en soos genoem kan hulle rondgeskuif word om die genepoel in die land te versterk. Dan kan ons ook natuurlik leeus na lande waar daar ? tekort is uitvoer. Dit sal wel behels dat hierdie lande die versekering moet gee dat daar na die leeus gekyk sal word. Ons het dit in die verlede gedoen, maar toe word die diere gestroop.”

Saayman het ook SAPBA se toewyding tot die verbetering van die bedryf asook hul wedywering vir ? beter toekoms vir leeus in die land geprys: “Cecil het die bedryf baie seer gemaak. Blood Lions het die bedryf seer gemaak. Deur die beroep vir hierdie studie wys dit wel dat die bedryf ernstig is om vrot kolle uit te wis en dit sal tot voordeel van die hele bedryf wees.”

The majority of the Professional Hunters Association of South Africa (Phasa) members have voted to distance the association from captive-bred lion hunting until such time as the South African Predators Association (SAPA) could prove the conservation value of this practice to both Phasa and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The lion-hunting industry caught global attention after Walter Palmer shot Cecil, a rare black-maned, collared lion in Zimbabwe. The documentary Blood Lions also showed audiences how lions live in terrible conditions and are abused.

The South African Predator Breeding Association (SAPBA) contacted Prof Melville Saayman and his team at Tourism Research in Economic Environs and Society at North-West University to investigate the value of the lion industry in South Africa.

This study, which will focus mainly on the main breeding areas of North West and the Free State, will also determine how many lions are part of the industry, as numbers vary between 4 000 and 6 000.

Saayman said South Africa’s lion population was far from showing problems but that more could be done to distribute the lions effectively and also to utilise them better. “We will also determine what must be done with the surplus of lions, because it has to be determined what the best will be for the market.”

He also praised SAPBA’s commitment to improving the industry and striving for a better future for lions in the country. “Cecil hurt the industry a lot. Blood Lions hurt the industry. The initiation of this study shows that the industry is serious about erasing the bad patches, and that will be to the benefit of the whole industry.”

The world’s wealthiest hunting organization, Safari Club International (SCI) and professional hunting groups, met behind closed doors with the South African Department of Environment (DEA) and representatives of other African nations last week to discuss policies for managing wildlife.

According to a media statement from the DEA, the 14th African Wildlife Consultative Forum, that was held in Limpopo from 9 to 12 November, is an annual SCI-sponsored initiative which “provides an important platform for African countries to enhance existing co-operation between governments, including hunting industries of participating countries”.

It goes on to say, the “AWCF is further a platform for sharing experiences in wildlife management and hunting in particular and will include preparations for the upcoming CITES CoP 17 meeting in South Africa next year”.

In other words, the meeting is about the SCI persuading African governments, individually and through CITES to adopt policies incorporating the conservation ‘benefits’ of trophy hunting.

SCI already heavily influences government policies to a number of African nations.

In 2013 Zambia issued a ban on hunting lions and leopards because of declining populations due to over-harvesting by trophy hunters. Zambian Tourism and Arts Minister, Jean Kapata at the time cited that “big cat numbers were too low to have a sustainable hunting industry.”

However, after intense pressure from the SCI, Zambia reversed the ban. Zambia’s Green Party president Peter Sinkamba told The Times of Zambia: “Much as we are aware that the PF [Patriotic Front] government is facing serious budget deficit challenges, it is extremely outrageous to resort to unleashing safari hunters on to limited populations of big cat species, regardless of the fact that safari hunting is allegedly most profitable.”

A similar scenario occurred in Namibia. In 2010 the country issued a hunting moratorium on big cats and placed the hunting industry under review.

It was reported that in some areas whole populations of leopard and cheetah were being wiped out. Hunting operators were running leopard and cheetah hunts with dogs, as well as canned hunts – in some cases canned hunts with dogs.

But the moratorium only remained in place for one hunting season. In 2011 Namibia in partnership with SCI launched a census “to manage the sustainability of the leopard population.”  A questionnaire was distributed to 1 500 farmers to assess the distribution and relative abundance of leopards throughout Namibia. There were only 400 replies. These, however, were extrapolated which produced a flawed national estimate of leopards of over 14 000.

Nambia has a CITES trophy hunted export quota of 250 leopards per year, a questionable figure, according to experts of the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN), because it is based on “insufficient ecological information and lack of scientific data”.

Unsurprisingly the pro-hunting census-takers recommended the quota “remain at the current level.”

The USA will not allow imports of trophies of cheetahs as it has deemed that cheetah hunting is not conducive to the conservation of the species. Namibia together with SCI has repeatedly petitioned the USA to lift the ban but the country has declined each request.

It is little wonder then that journalists and conservationists, who were not invited to the forum in Polokwane, are concerned that South Africa will succumb to the cash-waving advocates of trophy hunting despite the DEA insisting that “claims of excessive interference by American hunters in South African government policy are not true.”

Ban Animal Trading South Africa (a registered NPO fighting for the rights of animals) demanded that the minutes be made public, something the DEA have since done but the link is simply a summary of the proceedings and lacks any meaningful detail.

Ian Michler, who produced the film Blood Lions, has stated, “Given the non-transparent nature of the conference, it’s hard not to infer a conspiracy between hunters and governments in proposals that will be presented to CITES in the public’s name.”

It is expected that CITES will deliberate on issues such as ivory and rhino horn trade and revision of trophy hunted export quotas at the next Conference of the Parties in Johannesburg in 2016.

Karen Trendler of the NGO Working Wild says “it is of grave concern that issues of this nature and importance are discussed at closed meetings with what appears to be predominantly pro-hunting representation.”

The common-held mantra that trophy hunting benefits conservation has come under fire recently, especially following the death of Cecil the lion.

Many leading wildlife experts like National Geographic Explorer in Residence Dereck Joubert and Kenya’s conservation doyen, Richard Leakey, agree that trophy hunting is not good for conservation because it fuels corruption at the highest government levels, causes the loss of healthy animals that are still key for reproduction and social cohesion but, most importantly, contributes to the decline of Africa’s wildlife populations already in a free-fall from rampant poaching.

It’s time politicians and legislators realise it too.