South African Supreme Court overturns 2007 ministerial ruling against hunting captive lions
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, November/December 2010:
Bloemfontein, South Africa–Lions will continue to be killed
in put-and-take “canned hunts” in South Africa, the South African
Supreme Court of Appeal ordained on November 29, 2010, reversing a
February 2007 edict by then minister of environmental affairs
Marthinus van Schalkwyk that captive-bred lions had to be returned to
the wild for two years before they could be hunted.
“No doubt the minister was entitled to take account of the
strong opposition and even revulsion expressed by a substantial body
of public opinion to the hunting of captive bred lions,” wrote Judge
Jonathan A. Heher, ruling on behalf of the South Africa Predator
Breeders’ Association. “But in providing an alternative,” Heher
continued, “he was bound to rely on a rational basis. The evidence
proves he did not do so.”