CITES: Keep Calm And Let Africa Speak

The International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation, CIC, sponsored two high-level panel discussions and press conferences on 24th and 28th September during the 17th Conference of the Parties of CITES. Initially CIC planned only one press conference, but due to demand by the Africa Ministers present in the first meeting and the interest generated, a second event was scheduled.READ MORE

CITES COP 17 And Africa

Willem Wijnstekers, a former Secretary General of CITES participated in CoP 17 Sandton/South Africa in the team of the CIC International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation. Here is his report on African hunting related matters discussed at CoP 17. Willem is also the author of “The Evolution of CITES”, now in its 10th Edition launched in Johannesburg during the CIC Press Conference “Keep Calm and Let Africa Speak”. READ MORE

The Hunter’s Image

Yes, a lion got killed. Yes, he had a name and was a favorite at a well-known photographic installation in Hwange National Park. He was killed in a place with no lion permit and the world went nuts: Millions of words of rhetoric were generated, some true, some false, most opinions and feelings. The result of all of this is that today we look at a very different hunting landscape to what we were looking at just 12 months ago.READ MORE

Botswana’s Elephants And Conservation – Are Things Starting To Fall Apart?

Just over a year ago, stealing the title from Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe, Professor Keith Somerville wrote a report entitled No longer at ease: clouds on the horizon for Botswana’s conservation success story after a research trip to the Chobe Enclave, eastern Linyanti, Maun and Gaborone. In it he pointed to the gradual growth in elephant poaching, 30–50 a year, according to Michael Flyman, head of the Botswana Department of Wildlife and National Parks elephant surveys. READ MORE

Women And Sustainable Hunting

The Working Group Artemis of the CIC,  International Association for Falconry and Conservation of Birds of Prey, Working Group Diana of the Netherlands organized the 3rd International Women and Sustainable Hunting (WaSH) Conference in Wageningen, The Netherlands in July. The huntresses from Europe, Africa, Asia-Pacific and North America made highly educative and interesting presentations on a host of different topics. READ MORE

Quarterly Update On Giant Sable

(The report has been edited for length)

Between July and August we carried out an ambitious aerial census and capture operation in Luando and Cangandala which was integrated into the Action Plan for the Giant Sable Conservation, developed in collaboration between the Kissama Foundation and the Ministry of Environment. This operation was only possible with specific international funding received from Fondatión Segré and ExxonMobil Foundation, adding to the local funds of which the two main contributors are currently Sonangol and Angola LNG. READ MORE

Sterile Freaks

For the last couple of months I have been standing quietly on the sideline, observing the “amazing investment opportunity scheme” unfold and mature. Yes, I am referring to the color variants bred all over South Africa. We have passed yet another breeding season with many an investor anxiously inspecting his 2-hectare “farm” every morning, hoping to spot some black newborn lambs. READ MORE

SA Hunters Concerned About New Regulations That Allow Cross-Breeding Of Wildlife

The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) added twelve wildlife species to the list of tame and domesticated animals regulated under its Animal Improvement Act (No. 62 of 1998) in July. This amendment will allow genetic manipulation and cross-breeding of wildlife in the same way that cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, horses and poultry are bred to obtain animals with specific characteristics for agricultural purposes.READ MORE

WWF And Trophy Hunting

WWF is dedicated to protecting the earth’s wildlife and the ecosystems that support us all. Myriad threats have led wildlife populations to decline by an average of 52 percent globally since 1970. Success in conservation requires the use of a range of approaches to address the world’s environmental challenges.READ MORE

Fiona Capstick Receives CIC Gold Medal

Fiona Claire Capstick is not only a prolific author and past recipient of the CIC Literary Award for her masterwork “The Diana Files – The Huntress-Traveler Through History” published in 2005 (ISBN: 978-0-9584590-4-4) but also the sponsor of the Peter Hathaway Capstick Hunting Heritage Award of the Dallas Safari Club. READ MORE