African updates

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 1998:

Kenyan president Daniel arap Moi
in May fired Kenya Wildlife Service director
David Western, 53, who told The London
Times that he believes the reason was his
refusal to cooperate with the turnover of land
reserved for wildlife to agriculture and development
projects promoted by persons well
connected with the arap Moi regime. Western
succeeded Richard Leakey in 1994, after
Leakey was ousted over his uncompromising
stances against poaching and corruption.
The National Party, of South
Africa, on June 16 endorsed the recommendation
of the International Fund for Animal
Welfare that the South African government
should adopt “parliamentary proposals for the
special protection of lion, leopard, and cheetah,”
who are under increasing risk from habitat
encroachment and the spread of diseases
associated with domestic dogs.

The Wildlife & Environment
S o c i e t y, the oldest and largest conservation
group in South Africa, on May 19 published a
position statement calling for the appointment
of a professionally qualified environment minister,
recommending that national park land of
low conservation value be traded for more
ecologically sensitive areas, and concluding,
“It is vital for the future of our nation that our
natural environment is protected not in the
apartheid manner, which fenced off national
parks for the enjoyment of a select few, but
for the benefit of all.”