Private game park disputes report about elephant hunt

The Balule Nature Reserve Association (“BNRA”) has noted the publication of the article titled “Elephant shot eight times during ‘unlawful’ hunt at Limpopo game reserve” on The Citizen’s website at 13:52 on 11 September 2023 and in its printed issue of 12 September 2023. It was not approached for its comment prior to the publication of this article, and wishes to record its response.

The hunt which forms the subject of the article was conducted legally in terms of a permit issued by the Limpopo Economic Development, Environment and Tourism Department (“LEDET”) and within the Greater Kruger Hunting Protocols developed and endorsed by all the signatories to the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area (“GLTFCA”) Cooperative Agreement.

The court order referenced in the article (and to which a link in the article is included) does not “prohibit the trophy hunting of African elephants in South Africa”, as is alleged by the article and by the Humane Society International. The interdict in question applies only to Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (“CITES”) export permits in respect of leopards, black rhinoceroses and African elephants. The court order itself notes that the “overall purpose of CITES is to regulate the worldwide trade in endangered species of, inter alia, wild animals and plants”. Consequently, the interdict does not apply to any off-take or hunting permits issued to South African residents.

In the case of the hunt in question, the hunter was a South African resident who held a permit lawfully issued by the LEDET. The hunt was conducted legally and in accordance with all the requisite Greater Kruger Hunting Protocols.

The letter by Ian Nowak dated 5 September 2023, which is linked in the online version of the article and which is described in the article as a “publicly released letter” and an “open letter”, was not an open letter. It was directed specifically to “Grietjie Landowners” and sought to respond to specific queries which arose on the landowners’ WhatsApp group chat. Nonetheless, the BNRA stands by the conclusions contained in the letter: the hunt was legal, no protocol violations were committed and the pursuit of and follow-up shots on the elephant were consistent with the requirements contained in the Greater Kruger Hunting Protocol.

As is also stated in the letter, the BNRA’s annual off-take of animals is determined by the Associated Private Nature Reserve ecological panel, reviewed and then endorsed by SANParks and the biodiversity arm of LEDET. The off-take recommendation extends to a number of different species, including elephants, buffalo, impala, kudu and waterbuck. Approximately 50 below average sized elephants are removed from reserves falling under the Associated Private Nature Reserve annually in order to allow for better breeding opportunities for the average and above average bulls.

All revenue generated from the hunting of these animals must be, and is, spent on conservation, wildlife security and community upliftment, by BNRA and the Maseke Game Reserves respectively. The meat from the elephant hunted on the Maseke Game Reserve was used to feed approximately 250 children and old-aged members of the community, in terms of BNRA’s and the Maseke Game Reserve’s outreach programme’s ongoing community feeding scheme.

The BNRA does not condone any illegal activity whatsoever, and especially not the illegal killing of any animals within a protected area it is tasked to manage.

NOTE: The Citizen apologises for not aproaching Balule Nature Reserve Association for prior comment. Whether or not the court interdict prohibits the issuing of hunting permits is clearly the subject of conflicting views, and The Citizen retracts its endorsement (if any) of any of these viewpoints.

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