Green Scorpions confiscate cheetahs

2010-09-28 20:09

Bloemfontein - The Green Scorpions and police confiscated three cheetahs from a predator farm in Bray in the Molopo local municipality, the North West conservation department said on Tuesday.
The big cats were moved to a safer camp after the farm owner failed to comply with the North West department's wildlife fencing specifications, spokesperson Tshepo Moremi said in a statement.

"The farmer continuously ignored such directives, which prompted the department to seek recourse from the court of law and a warrant of search and seizure was subsequently granted by the Vryburg Magistrate's Court."

The farmer would now face three charges of contravening the National Environment Management Biodiversity Act, specifically related to carrying out a restricted activity involving a listed, threatened or protected species.

Anyone convicted of such an offence was liable to a fine not exceeding R10m or imprisonment for a period not exceeding 10 years, or both.

Moremi said it was crucial that the animals were seized and taken to a safer camp where they would be kept until the case was concluded, to avoid potentially fatal incidents which might eventually compromise the department.

North West conservation MEC Boitumelo Tshwene said his department would enforce the new predator fencing specifications and predator farmers who did not comply would face prosecution.

He said his department was ready to "pull out all stops" to ensure total compliance.

The Green Scorpions, in a recent, unrelated incident, moved leopards and lions from a private farm in Stella near Vryburg to a camp that met fencing specifications.

Moremi said the department recently won a case against three people in Brits who were found guilty of illegally possessing giraffe skins.


They were fined R6 000 and received a further five-year suspended sentence after they could not prove they obtained the skins legally.

- SAPA