South African Minister Barbara Creecy of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) has released a draft Policy Position published on the Government Gazette on the conservation and ecologically sustainable use of elephant, lion, leopard and rhinoceros in the Country.
This document is based on the recent High-Level Panel report and its recommendations and is now open for public comments for the next 30 days. The Minister invites to submit written comments on the draft policy position by post, by hand or by email to: knaicker@environment.gov.za
The Policy Position proposes interventions on:
- Iconic Species Management: lion, rhino and leopard
- Trade: elephant ivory trade, rhino horn trade, live trade, stockpiles
- Conservation: wildness, one welfare, and reconceptualised protected areas
- Conservation Transformation: transformative African approach, ecologically suitable use and human-wildlife conflict
- Conservation Capacity: human capital development and research
Some of the policy interventions include:
- Immediately halt domestication and commercial exploitation of lion and closure of captive lion facilities.
- Undo the domestication of rhino
- Enhance the conservation of leopard
- Prevent live export of the five iconic species into captivity in other countries
- Development of an overarching national policy on Biodiversity and sustainable use
- Increased wildness, naturalness, and wellbeing of fauna necessary to enhance the conservation of iconic species
- Adopt a One Welfare approach to wildlife wellbeing
We encourage public and associations to read the entire document and comment on this draft Policy Position.
SEND YOUR WRITTEN COMMENT VIA E-MAIL (not later than 27th July 2021)
