The EPI Foundation, the secretariat to the 24 African member states of the Elephant Protection Initiative (EPI), has expressed its strong opposition to the reopening of domestic ivory markets, as proposed in the Republic of South Africa’s Draft National Biodiversity Economy Strategy.   Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) officer in one of the country’s ivory stockpile rooms   The EPI Foundation’s CEO, John E. Scanlon AO, said: “To open a domestic ivory market is bad for elephant conservation. It is contrary to CITES resolutions and the policies of most African elephant range states, as wel ..read more

Will government’s new strategy really benefit people and nature, or simply lead to massive over-consumption of natural resources, creating unrealistic expectations in an attempt to win the rural vote? At the recent Biodiversity and Investment Indaba in Gauteng launched by government to showcase South Africa’s new biodiversity strategy, President Cyril Ramaphosa emphasised the need to bring local communities to the centre of the biodiversity economy, stating that rural communities “had always suffered” but the new strategy would focus on transformation to ensure that they benefited. The Nation ..read more

The environment ministry this week tabled a roadmap to end the captive lion breeding industry, but it will take a few years for the wheels to stop turning.  Lions in a captive breeding facility. (Photo: Blood Lions)   South Africa has the largest number of captive lions in the world — about 7,800 in 348 breeding facilities. This has to end, Environment Minister Barbara Creecy said at a press briefing this week, taking the lead from a panel of experts she appointed to formulate steps for the industry’s closure. Captive lions and lion facilities in SA. (Table: DFFE) The first opti ..read more

A generation ago, farming with animals like lions, rhinos and crocodiles would have seemed bizarre. Today, millions of wild animals are raised on farms to supply a burgeoning demand for pets, parts and meat.                                 Markets in Thailand sell endangered species to tourists.(Photo: World Animal Protection)   Breeding wild animals for profit is cruel and poses a threat to humans, according to a report by World Animal Protection. But what’s startling is the NGO’s estimate of the numbe ..read more

To Identify and Recommend Voluntary Exit Options and Pathways for the Captive Lion Industry For submission to the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Report Highlights • The MTT process included extensive engagement with general public, lion owners and industry associations, government departments, existing lion safe havens, animal welfare and protection organisations, conservation organisations, traditional health practitioners, other professionals (SAVC, NSPCA, LiMF, SANBI) and civil society representatives. • The audit concluded that South African currently has 7,834 captive ..read more

Forestry, Fisheries and Environment Minister Barbara Creecy has barred fishing around key African Penguin breeding colonies, but conservation bodies say the closures fail to reduce competition with commercial purse-seine fishing, enabling them to infringe on African Penguin prey, and do not correspond with the Penguins’ core foraging areas.    Endangered African penguins at Boulders Beach on 13 March, 2024. The African Penguin has already lost 97% of its population. If current trends persist, the species will be extinct in the wild by 2035. (Photo: Kristin Engel)   In a de ..read more

The Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC) and Mozambique Tax Authority (AT) yesterday intercepted a 20-foot container containing 651 pieces of elephant tusk ivory at the port of Maputo. The consignment was bound for Dubai.   Photo via Alexandre Nhampossa/X   According to Moçambique Bio, the prohibited items were hidden in the centre of the container, surrounded by bags of corn. According to the same publication, efforts are now underway to identify the exporter and customs broker of the container. Meanwhile, lawyer David Ucama said that SERNIC would notify the National Admi ..read more

South Africa has more than 75 tonnes of rhino horn stockpiled from animals that have died naturally, horns seized in anti-smuggling operations, and horns sawn off from immobilised, live rhinos in an attempt to deter poachers.  Poaching has decimated white rhino populations in the Kruger National Park – from 10,621 in 2011 to just 2,060 in 2022. (Photo: Conservation Action Trust)   The government should destroy all stockpiles of rhino horn to stop them being diverted into the illegal rhino horn trade through theft or corruption, according to a new report released by the ..read more

A herd of elephants at the Numbi Gate of the Kruger National Park in Mbombela, Mpumalanga. (Photo: Gallo Images / Daily Maverick / Felix Dlangamandla)   By Friday, 22 March, the public is expected to have commented on a detailed plan by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment to massively exploit and monetise South Africa’s wildlife. The public was given just 14 days to respond. The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) has released a 48-page plan to create integrated “mega landscapes” on land and sea encompassing extensive areas whe ..read more

Media Statement On the 27th February 2024, Minister Barbara Creecy issued a media statement confirming that an alarming number of 397 rhino were killed in KwaZulu Natal in 2023, the highest number on record for this province. A total of 499 rhinos were killed throughout South Africa last year. Explanations for the devastating loss of thousands of rhinos in South Africa, particularly over the past few years, were highlighted in the 2021 EMS Foundation publication of Where Have All the Rhinos Gone? We determined that the significant loss of rhinos are not only due to the illegal killing of rhino ..read more