Port Elizabeth
Port Elizabeth
Save the Leopard
Aug
26
2009
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This scene of barbarism greeted the police and conservationists on the road between Riversdale and Vermaaklikheid,
Western Cape, South Africa. The culture that drives such actions is
reprehensible and inconceivable. 
This leopard’s death is of major concern, as a recently completed
Rhodes University study indicated that this cat would have been part of
a core population of territorial leopard that lived in a 300 000 ha
area in and around the Baviaanskloof Reserve. The study indicated that
only about 30 territorial leopards remained in this region (between
PE/Uitenhage and Uniondale, Eastern Cape, South Africa). Over the past
6 years we know of at least 29 killed leopards in this area.
This leopard was killed on Snyberg farm of Messrs Werner and GT
Ferreira in the Uniondale district, Western Cape. This farm is a sheep,
goat, cattle and ostrich farm. This gin trap was set to catch
predators. The leopard was caught and left in the gin trap and first
died of dehydration and sepsis, and then left to rot in the trap.
This is a trap produced by Mr Peter Schneekluth of Prince Albert. This
method of production is supported for the production of livestock
(meats, wool and mohair) by the "National" Problem Animal Committee...
The Baviaanskloof Mega Reserve is proudly displayed as an icon on the
conservation landscape in which three global biodiversity hotspots of
conservation landscape priorities converge, and 6 of Southern Africas 7
biomes are represented. Such status has however done little to
safeguard the remaining top predator species of the region, the
leopard, from continued persecution by the agricultural industry.
The Landmark Foundation staged a public and
symbolic burning of gin traps in the Baviaanskloof (Eastern Cape) this
week. This is a culmination of a 4 year effort to rid the area of these
barbaric predator control mechanisms; namely gin traps, indiscriminate
poisons and hunting dog packs.
These "tools" have seen the known numbers of leopards killed in the area rise to 25.
In a perverse turn of events we are informed that some conservation
entities and academics are pushing to soften the positions taken on gin
traps. They are trying to euphemistically call these barbaric tools
"leg-hold devices" (and even more sickening "soft gin traps") and claim
that they are safe and acceptable. They are not. Some conservation
entities even use these devices in their research methodologies and hand
them out to farmers as an item they promote in production practises!
The Landmark Foundation has in the last week rescued the 17th leopard
in the last 4 years in and around the areas surrounding the Tsitsikamma
Mountains, the Baviaanskloof Mega Reserve and Addo Elephant National
Park in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. In fact, it was the 14th rescue
in the last 18 months! We have been able to do this with the help of local farmers who have been willing to embark on and partner with us on our non-lethal, ecologically and ethically acceptable predator management efforts
Landmark Foundation
The Leopard and Predator Project of the Landmark Foundation aims to address the persecution of predators, and leopards in particular. This column represents the ongoing efforts of this project.Contact : 083 324 3344
website
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