By Dr. Michelle Henley - Elephants Alive “What would the world be, once bereft of wet and of wilderness? Let them be left, o let them be left, wildness and wet; Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet.” ~ Gerard Manley Hopkins (Inversnaid 1881) There is a...
Western Influence On African Trophy Hunting
By Jared Kukura – Wild Things Initiative Despite the best efforts of powerful pro-hunting organizations, perception will never outweigh facts. Trophy hunting was, and continues to be, a sport built upon Western countries exploiting African wildlife and people. Many...
Following the money to disrupt wildlife crime: from words to action
By Pauline Verheij - EcoJust Since the early 2000s the world has seen an alarming surge in poaching and trafficking of protected wildlife species. These crimes impact not just biodiversity. They also undermine the rule of law and affect economies and the livelihoods...
Outrage over ‘unethical’ Botswana elephant hunt
By Don Pinnock – Daily Maverick When President Mokgweetsi Masisi opened up Botswana’s rich wildlands to hunting, it helped gain him the essential rural votes he needed to get re-elected. But the ‘unethical’ hunting of a collared elephant has the local San community,...
No place for trophy hunting in the sixth extinction
By Dr. Ross Harvey (Independent Economist, University of Cape Town) For a Western hunter to pay to kill an African animal and expatriate its parts is a form of objectification, dehumanising and therefore morally reprehensible. It may entrench a Western narrative of...
To fly or not to fly? Can air travel ever be good for the environment?
By John E. Scanlon AO – Special Envoy at African Parks Network Flight shaming has caught the attention of climate activists and concerned citizens searching for ways and means to urgently tackle climate change. Are there considerations that go beyond the carbon...
Extinction of ice age giants likely drove surviving animals apart
By Aniko Blanka Toth, Postdoctoral Fellow, Macquarie University - The Conversation As the world grapples with an extinction crisis, our large mammals are among the most endangered. These threatened species – rhinos, pandas, tigers, polar bears and the like – greatly...
Radical changes rattle the cage of South Africa’s wildlife interaction industry
By Louzel Lombard-Steyn - Conservation Action Trust Interactions with all infant wildlife, walking with predators or elephants, interacting with predators and the riding of wild animals are no longer acceptable practices, according to the South African Tourism...
Zimbabwe’s shameful export of baby elephants under the guise of ‘sustainable use’
By Audrey Delsink (Wildlife Director, Human Society International/Africa), Dr. Keith Lindsay (Collaborating Researcher, Amboseli Trust for Elephants), Adam Cruise (PhD candidate: Stellenbosch University, South Africa) and Dr. Ross Harvey (Independent Economist,...
South Africa struggles to manage wildlife ranching: why it’s a problem
By Tariro Kamuti -Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Cape Town Over the past few decades, South Africa has seen a dramatic conversion from livestock or crop farming to wildlife ranching – known locally as game farming. The result has been a rapid rise in...