After Barack Obama came Donald Trump, a bigoted populist prone to crass outpourings and some peculiar legislative ideas. His time in office has reminded the world how prone...
The elephants in the room – the myths informing Botswana’s hunting policy
Botswana has lifted its ban on hunting based on five myths about that country’s elephant population. The decision has as much to do with Botswana’s upcoming elections and the...
Botswana’s elephants: myths vs facts
Botswana president, Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi, recently hosted a summit in Kasane for five southern African heads of state to forge a common regional elephant conservation policy....
Kruger poachers get power rifles.
A gun manufacturer in the Czech Republic is implicated in flooding Africa with thousands of high-calibre hunting rifles. Now poachers are even more deadly, writes Don Pinnock A...
Botswana lifts ban on elephant hunting
Lifting of ban attributed to ‘political play’. The Botswanan government announced yesterday that it was “lifting the hunting suspension in an orderly and ethical manner” – a...
Tall order to save the giraffe
WILL giraffes survive humanity? They are as iconic as lions, rhinos and elephants and their long-term existence in the wild is under similar threat. However, the world’s tallest...
Kenya on the brink of acquitting ivory trafficker number four
On April 11, Chief Magistrate Francis Kyambia is set to make judgement in a Mombasa, Kenya court on the ivory trafficking prosecution against Ephantus Mbare Gitonga. A not-guilty...
The massacre of nature’s ‘architects’
This encyclopaedic book sends out a powerful message to give elephants the highest protection status, writes Elise Tempelhoff. The LAST ELEPHANTS Compiled by Don Pinnock &...
Stay of execution for Riff Raff… for now
The life of an elephant that faces being shot for being a 'nuisance' is hanging in the balance as animal campaigners in South Africa fight in court to keep him alive. Riff Raff's...
The Last Elephants – Book review
Did you know that in Africa there is one elephant for every 20 000 people; fewer than 450 000 according to the (most recent) Great Elephant Census of 2016, down from the 3 to 5...
Namibia’s Environment Minister rejects criticism over trophy hunting
Namibia's current and Kenya's former ministers for environment engaged in a lively discussion about the polarising issue of trophy hunting at a debate held in at The Arts Club in...
Japan to tighten controls on ivory market amid international criticism
"By shutting down the movement of ivory of unknown origin, the domestic market is moving closer to an effective closure," Environment Minister Yoshiaki Harada said at a press...
Botswana elephants caught in the middle of a scramble for votes
Photo credit: Francis Garrard President Mokgweetsi Masisi of Botswana said last week that “elephants bleed [the] government coffers”, as “Botswana is indirectly subsidising...
Extinction looms for Namibia’s Wild Horses
Nambia's wild horses. Photo: Christine-Wulff-Swiegers The desert sun is setting on the Wild Horse population that has roamed Namibia’s Garub plains for over a hundred years as...
Botswana proposes hunting and trade as elephant population declines
The results of the recent and most extensive elephant population survey of Botswana estimates the country’s population at 126,000 elephants, a further decline from 131,600...
Escalating poaching worrying
Killing of elephants for their tusks crisis is not a new issue Photo credit: Mike Chase After months of controversy, the results of the most extensive elephant population survey...
Technology is useful, but drones alone won’t save Africa’s elephants
Two elephants play in the Mara Triangle, the north-western part of Masai Mara. Image: Getty, YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP Technology has made a tremendous difference in the world, in...
Dereck Joubert sets the record straight about trophy hunting impact on lions and refutes claims of so-called benefits
© Dereck and Beverly Big Cat Conservation Opinion post by Dereck Joubert I’ve been asked to respond to the following remarks that came up in a discussion following the...
Does trophy hunting really benefit conservation and local communities?
Every year, thousands of tourists visit South African private nature reserves to see wild animals in unspoilt surroundings. But how many of these travellers know that some of the...
Missing the Mark: African trophy hunting fails to show consistent conservation benefits
A report by the Democratic staff of the House Committee on Natural Resources Executive Summary Hunting of imperiled animals can save species from extinction. It is a claim that...
Greater KNP Hunting Protocol for Reserves where hunting takes place
PREAMBLE Demands for competing land uses that are not compatible with conservation practices, make the need for viable conservation incentives more urgent. Well governed trophy...
CITES lets world’s worst elephant poaching countries off the hook
Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, China, Thailand and the Philippines, some of the world's worst countries for poaching and illegal trade in ivory have been allowed to exit a key...
Captive lion breeding for hunting in South Africa colloquium Day 1, with Minister present
Chairperson: Mr M Mapulane (ANC) Meeting Summary The Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs hosted a two-day colloquium on captive lion breeding under the...
OP-ED: Lion bones and predator farming – picking on the carcass of SA tourism
Predator breeding using lions and other species could cost South Africa over R54-billion over the next 10 years in loss of tourism brand attractiveness. This is according to a...
Bribery in Namibia: Government forced community into silence
Dogged by allegations of bribery and unethical operators, a dodgy permitting system, and the contentious hunting of so-called ‘problem animals’ – Namibia’s hunting community has...
The Controversial Lion Hunt in Umbabat – South Africa
1. The Petition 1.1 On the 7th June 2018, a citizen of the United States of America, named in a recent article as Jared Whitworth...
East London Zoo plans to cage endangered Wild Dogs for ‘conservation’
The troubled East London Zoo’s plans to buy Wild Dogs as soon as a moratorium on purchasing animals at the zoo is lifted are facing criticism from conservationists. The Zoo is...
Like the fossil fuel industry, trophy hunting is unsustainable
Trophy hunting is like the fossil fuel industry. They’re both messy, unsustainable, in need of an alternative approach and, ultimately, fail to deliver on their promises. ...
Final Report Survey of Small Elephant Populations in South Africa
1. PROJECT BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT Since the early-1980s the number of fenced elephant populations on private property in South Africa has grown considerably, contributing to the...
Southern Africa’s Wildlife Trade: An analysis of CITES trade in SADC countries
Southern Africa is losing protected wild plants and animals at an alarming rate. Between 2005 and 2014, around 18,000 individual species worth US$340-million were legally sold....
Trophy hunting stronghold on Africa’s wildlife seeping across to SA
The world's wealthiest hunting organization, Safari Club International (SCI) and professional hunting groups, met behind closed doors with the South African Department of...
PRESS RELEASE: Elephant Experts From Around the World Oppose Proposed Import of 18 Elephants from Swaziland to Zoos in Texas, Nebraska and Kansas
For Immediate Release Elephant Experts From Around the World Oppose Proposed Import of 18 Elephants from Swaziland to Zoos in Texas, Nebraska and Kansas “The capture and...
Petted cheetahs are biting back
Keeping cheetahs as tourist attractions is widespread in South Africa. But, as a number of attacks have proved, they’re far less tame than ‘cheetah experience’ establishments...
NSPCA CAPTIVE ELEPHANT REPORT
The NSPCAs Wildlife Protection Unit has compiled an in-depth report on the captive Elephant industry in South Africa. All information contained in this factual report has been...
Zimbabwe says Cecil the Lion hunt was definitely illegal
Parks Authority believes that the use of a bow and an arrow “was meant to conceal the illegal hunt by using a means that would not alert the rangers on patrol.” Bow and arrow...
Double controversy hits Southern Africa’s trophy hunting industry
In the past week Southern Africa’s lucrative trophy hunting industry received two devastating blows: the release of an explosive new documentary detailing the unsavoury practices...