Hon House Chair, in response to the statement regarding canned lion hunting, I just want to bring it to the attention of the hon member from the IFP that canned lion hunting is banned in South Africa. It is not permitted.
I am going to read section 26 of the regulations on threatened or protected species in our country. Those regulations say that no hunting of lion is allowed while the lion is under the influence of a tranquilliser or in a controlled environment, with weapons of a certain caliber. The list of what is not allowed goes on. That is really what is prohibited.
What people call canned lion hunting, or the definition of canned lion hunting, falls within what is not permitted under the circumstances. So, there is no need to ban something that has already been banned.
However, the issue here is that there are people in this country and worldwide who are calling for the nonlegalisation of lion hunting and normal hunting in our country. I am going to read section 24(b)(iii) of our Constitution, which says we need to:
... secure ecologically sustainable development and use of natural resources while promoting justifiable economic and social development.
This is law number one in our country, which allows those who are operating in this space to be breeders. There is a big difference between breeding and canned lion hunting. However, people do breed for hunting.
We as the department have done the following: We have issued regulations that prohibit the hunting of lions younger than 24 months. South Africans took us to court, using this section of the Constitution. They succeeded in prosecution because of what is in this Constitution. And, indeed, what is now happening is that lions under the age of 24 months are being hunted.
We still see this as a problem, even though the court said, "It is not your baby. It is a welfare issue that has to do with the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries." The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is putting regulations in place to control this. Thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]