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http://www.huntingreport.com/worldupdate.cfm?articleid=358
Captive Lions Hunts Are OK Through 2008 (posted March 19, 2008) [] If you have a hunt booked in South Africa for a captive lion this season and you have been wondering if it will be legal when your hunt date comes around, relax. The Hunting Report has just learned that captive lion hunts already booked for 2008 will be honored irrespective of the outcome of the ongoing law suit over these hunts. We have that news from Peter Butland, President of PHASA (Professional Hunters Association of South Africa), who called us this afternoon from Cape Town. Butland had just met with officials of DEAT (Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism), the governmental body that has the authority to make a statement like the one above. "Your subscribers can rest easy with booked hunts for captive lion this season," Butland said. Longer term, it is not clear how captive lion hunts will be handled. It appears almost certain that they will continue; the ambiguity centers on the length of time that a captive lion must be released before it is hunted. The government has called for a two-year release period, while the South African Predators Breeders Association (SAPBA) wants a six-month period. This disagreement over release periods is the central issue in the lawsuit SAPBA has filed against the government. SAPBA says nothing less than the future of the industry is at stake, as a captive lion hunting industry requiring a two-year release period would not be economically feasible. Butland said it was impossible to predict when the lawsuit would be over or how it would be decided. For the moment, though, the issue is moot. Subscribers who have called us about 2008 captive lion hunts can rest easy. - Don Causey. |
