4 DECEMBER 2019
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NEWS Recycling efforts go to waste
Recycling efforts in Hermanus have ground to a halt once again after Walker Bay Recycling closed their doors indefinitely.
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Poaching declared a priority crime Writer De Waal Steyn
T
he fight against the scourge of illegal abalone poaching will be intensified after it was announced in the Western Cape Parliament last week that the South African Police Service (SAPS) would be reclassifying abalone poaching as a serious priority crime. Although more than 400 suspects were arrested for the crime over the past year and police confiscated abalone worth at least R130 million in the Western Cape, natural stock of this delicacy keeps on dwindling as poachers brazenly ply their trade daily, in full view of the public. The Democratic Alliance’s spokesperson on Environmental Affairs, Andricus van der Westhuizen said: “I’m glad that SAPS is finally taking this matter seriously in our ongoing fight to curb abalone poaching. This environmental crime is a concern as abalone extinction could have disastrous consequences for the entire country. The reclassification of this dire criminal activity in our province is a step in the right direction towards protecting the Western Cape’s delicate marine environment and our precious ocean resources,” he said. Environmentalists and the fishing communities along the Cape Whale Coast have cautiously welcomed the news that abalone poaching would be reclassified as a serious priority crime to be investigated by the SAPS Organised Crime Unit.
Community Against Abalone Poaching spokesperson Danie Keet said: “It’s an extremely good development in the fight against abalone poaching. It’s something we’ve been fighting for, for three or four years. “Recently, we saw a large-scale operation along our coast by several law-enforcement agencies, including SAPS and the SANDF. This operation proved to be a great deterrent for the poachers. Our concern is that if the operation stops, the poachers will return. But at the same time, it proves poaching can be policed effectively and the resource can be protected,” said Keet. The move to reclassify poaching as a serious priority crime follows a report by the Western Cape Police Ombudsman, Johan Brand, in October, in which he found that SAPS had a duty to assist in the fight against poaching. The report made the following recommendations with reference to abalone poaching: • Ensure that organised projects regarding poaching are initiated and investigated by the Organised Crime Unit of SAPS. Abalone poaching should be classified as organised crime in terms of Section 16 of the South African Police Service Act, Act 68 of 1995. • Establish an Environmental Court in consultation with the National Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development. • Ensure that the National Integrated Strategy to Combat Wildlife Trafficking
STANFORD STUMBLE Kaylin Miller and Daniel Boshier enjoy a cool drink after a hot walk through the beautiful Stanford Hills property in aid of The Butterfuly Centre on Saturday. See more on P 22. PHOTO: Taylum Meyer
(NISCWT) be urgently submitted to National Cabinet for approval; and • Categorise abalone poaching as a serious crime, in line with rhino poaching. The risk of abalone extinction is a real threat to the oceans of the Western Cape. It will have a knock-on effect on the aquatic environment, and the province’s ocean economy
from which most of South Africa’s marine stock is sourced.
in our ongoing fight to protect our province’s oceans.
Van der Westhuizen said this environmental crime was a pressing concern as abalone extinction could have disastrous consequences for the entire country. “I will be monitoring this crime reclassification closely to ensure that law enforcement follows through on its commitments
“The DA in the Western Cape remains committed to protecting our natural environments, ensuring that our resources are used sustainably and that the unique beauty of our province and its fauna and flora are preserved for generations to come,” he said.
