Hunting with dogs workshop held in KZN

KZN WILDLIFE held a public workshop on the controversial topic of "hunting with dogs" this past weekend at Queen Elizabeth Park in Pietermaritzburg with the objective of attempting to find a way forward in dealing with phenomenon and to formulate a declaration to send forward to the provincial lawmakers. In seeking possible solutions or alternative methods of addressing the problem, KZN Wildlife has explored the possibility of legalising organised controlled hunts on private land in co-operation with owners. This proposal has met with stiff opposition from animal welfare groups and in order to seek a way forward KZN Wildlife held the workshop under the chairmanship of Professor Rob Fincham of the School of Environmental Development of the University of Natal in Pietermaritzburg last Saturday, inviting as many organisations with a direct interest in the issue to attend. These included the NSPCA and other animal welfare groups, organised agriculture, representatives from several hunting associations, representatives from the KZN House of Traditional Leaders, legal representatives and the media. Debate moved around the issues of present legality, animal cruelty and farm security, while throughout the workshop ran the thread of determining who "the public" was. KZN Wildlife CEO Khulani Mkhize drew the proceedings to a close with a statement on the way forward. "This is an extremely emotive issue for some, a culturally important one for some and an important recreational issue for others," he said. "Our workshop sought a way forward, and even if we were not able to do so as well as we would have wished, we consider the day to have been a success in that we managed to bring the various factions together, to start talking - and most importantly, to listen to one another. This in itself is a breakthrough," he added. (Miguel de Sousa)