UNETHICAL HUNTING PRACTICES

Even though we understand that hunting is deeply entrenched in the South African culture, we strongly object to any hunting or fishing for sport, entertainment, or recreational purposes. The sport does not justify causing suffering to animals. Here are just four unethical hunting practices from the NSPCA website:

CANNED HUNTING

A canned hunt is a trophy hunt that is not “fair chase”; it has been made too easy for the hunter. In some examples, animals have been kept in a confined area, such as in a fenced-in area, increasing the likelihood of the hunter obtaining a kill. According to WordNet, a canned hunt is a “hunt for animals that have been raised on game ranches until they are mature enough to be killed for trophy collections.”

There have been criticisms of this method of hunting from both hunters and animal welfare advocacy groups. “Canned hunting” and “vanity hunting” are derogatory terms not generally applied by the practitioners of activities so described.

The practice of canned hunting, irrespective of the species hunted, is regarded as unethical and directly linked to animal abuse that is unacceptable to society at large. It was without hesitation that the NSPCA requested the Government to simply ban, through national legislation, the practice of canned hunting in all its forms, as well as the breeding of any large predators for any other reason than bona fide conservation projects.

It was further proposed that any form of hunting that did not involve a free-living and self-sustaining animal with a fair chase and chance of escape should be considered “canned”.

GREEN HUNTING

With so much attention on canned hunting, it is not surprising that “green” hunting may seem like a viable and responsible alternative.

Green hunting is being promoted as “the thrill without the kill” or the big-game hunting experience without killing an animal. It has been promoted internationally, included on websites: – “Imagine the thrill of tracking, spotting, stalking and hunting the world’s greatest game animals at close range in Africa – lion, buffalo, leopard, elephant and rhinoceros – without killing any of them.” “Catch-and-release hunting is now possible by converting a high-powered rifle to a tranquiliser dart gun.”

A list of reasons is given (San Francisco Chronicle) why green hunting “solves many problems.” This includes the fact that an animal is not killed, no trophy-kill fee (i.e, cheaper), an inspiration for the travel industry, providing income for habitat protection, worldwide in scope, relatively low cost, and a “full experience without a downside.”

At first sight, perhaps argues the NSPCA’s Wildlife Unit. Just about anything can be promoted as inspiring the travel industry, or that income can be ploughed into good causes. But an activity without a downside. Not so.

The Chairperson of the Game Ranger Association of South Africa stated to the NSPCA in 1999 that “I am not sure if you people are aware of green hunting and what it entails. It basically has to do with where animals are to be immobilised, which is then done by an outsider paying big money for the privilege. Surely this can create an opportunity for the misuse of animals for the sake of money, and it should be a concern of yours. It has come to my notice that there has already been a case where one white rhino bull is apparently subjected to monthly immobilisations.”

A member of the public wrote to the NSPCA: “I find the practice of green hunting absolutely abhorrent. It would seem that some of the conservation tourist bodies go to any lengths to appease the American dollar or any other foreign currency. Our wild animals, like our natural environment, are becoming victims of greed”.

The NSPCA concurs that darting for the sake of darting is not only wrong but totally unnecessary, and that even when a dart safari is done for the right reasons, there are risks for the animals. It is hazardous.

Professional capture teams almost always dart from a helicopter. Amateurs on safari do not do that. They are on the ground, which raises the likelihood that a dart may be off-target when it hits the animal. This would result in a partial dose of the drug being given. One documented example is when the shot from the eco-hunter deflected off a twig and hit the rhino in the rib cage. The semi-conscious animal then fled, ending up trapped between two boulders.

HUNTING WITH DOGS

Welfare concerns. The welfare problems for hunting dogs, as well as the welfare problems for their prey, and the misery which they cause the victims, were highlighted in a court case.

Just some of the problems associated with hunting with dogs:

• Veterinary care of dogs.
• How will dogs that can no longer hunt be destroyed?
• Housing Facilities
• Indiscriminate breeding for the ultimate winner
• Dogs are injured by the prey.
• Dogs were injured during the chase.
• Treatment and care of diseased dogs.
• Assurance that the nutritional needs of dogs are met.
• Unacceptable methods of encouraging dogs to hunt (dogs are known to be starved before a hunt).

For the hunted prey:

• Injuries to non-target prey and prey that escape.
• The spread of diseases (e.g., rabies).
• Method of the kill.
• Stress myopathy (a major killer of wildlife, particularly in captivity) with regard to non-target species and target species that are not captured.
• The season during which hunters will be permitted to hunt.

Not only are the dogs known to be unselective in the species, but also in gender and age of the prey, thus affecting the gene pool of the natural selection process. Dogs are not efficient killers – dogs rip at their victims and pull pieces out of them while they are still alive. A farmer witnessed an Oribi doe and her two twins being torn to shreds by a pack of hunting dogs.

DRIVEN HUNTS

A line of beaters pushes the animal in the direction towards a chain of waiting hunters. This way, you can be relatively certain of getting a chance to shoot game a number of times each day.

Hunters have a small window of opportunity and must make split-second decisions, and are aiming and firing at constantly moving targets. Due to the size of these hunting parties, with 13-15 hunters, at least 7 Professional hunters for this size of the group, a large number of beaters to drive the animals in a certain direction, the noise level and level of disturbance are high in any case.

Apart from the abovementioned, the following are some of the concerns the National Council of SPCAs feels need to be assessed/addressed going forward with any legislation pertaining to driven hunts in South Africa, although this is in no way to be seen as approval of this practice.

Due to the logistics of the hunt, hunters are confined to a stationary position until the end of the hunt without being able to follow up / check on the status of the animal (whether wounded or killed). Up to an hour or more can pass between the first shot fired, that is, when the first animal could have been fired upon, until the end of the hunt, when hunters are able to check on their kills or wounded animals in need of a mercy shot or coup-de-grâce. This is especially applicable where animals that had been hit had managed to reach the densely vegetated fringe of the firing target range.

Applying this method of driving hunting anywhere near or in the direction of fences can lead to animals panicking and jumping into or over fences, possibly leading to injuries.

Due to the number of shots fired and the presence and noise emanating from the beaters, animals ending against fences during such a hunt have no way out but into or over a fence.

Due to the duration of each ‘drive’ from beginning to end, late afternoon drives can lead to animals wounded not being found before sunset and thus left for the night until morning, before trackers can continue.

The animals targeted are mostly on a non-selective basis, as the aim of the hunt is not the selective removal of animals or even trophy hunting, but the pure aim of numbers on a hunter’s card. Due to the split-second decision before firing at an animal, selective hunting is virtually impossible.

In the context of professional and recreational hunting, the humane treatment of animals cannot be ensured without including the breeding, transportation, and holding standards of wildlife in the related game industry. Animals raised under the control of humans or taken into captivity by humans should be afforded the provisions of the basic Five Freedoms, being adopted increasingly throughout the animal welfare world.