Canned lion hunting laws

Canned lion hunting laws
South Africa environment minister announced long-awaited restrictions on lion hunting Tuesday, declaring he was sickened by wealthy tourists shooting tame lions from the back of a truck and felling rhinos with a bow and arrow.
Dismissing threats of legal action by the hunting industry, Marthinus Van Schalkwyk said the new law would ban “canned” hunting of big predators and rhinos in small enclosures that offer them no means of escape.
In addition, lions bred in captivity would have to be released into the open for at least two years before they could be hunted. Van Schalkwyk said a previously proposed six-month delay would not give lions enough time to develop self-defence instincts.
“Hunting should be about fair chase … testing the wits of a hunter against that of the animal,” he told a press conference. “Over the years that got eroded and now we are trying to re-establish that principal.” read more