Leopard hunting effectively banned in SA

The Department of Environmental Affairs has set provincial leopard hunting quotas at zero for 2016, Department of Environmental Affairs Chief Director Communications, Albi Modise has confirmed.

While Modise would not go into detail about the motivation for the decision, he said it followed a report led by South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI).

However, in a Government Gazette published last year, the department suggested that leopard hunting might be unsustainable.

“Recent research suggests that trophy hunting may be unsustainable in Limpopo, KwaZulu Natal and possibly North West. This is due mainly to excessive quotas, clumping of hunting effort, poor trophy selection, and the additive effects of DCA [damage-causing-animal] control combined with other forms of illegal off-take,” the notice reads.

According to Modise, the decision, which effectively bans leopard hunting, applies throughout South Africa.