Sustainable use of wildlife is a conditional promise — that SA has not reached
Daily Maverick | 21.05.2026 03:39
A recent exposé documenting leopard-related prosecutorial failures in the Western and Northern Cape between 2024 and 2026 revealed a deeply troubling enforcement record. Across seven incidents involving the trapping, unlawful capture or killing of protected leopards, there was one single R1,000 admission-of-guilt fine, multiple failures by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to prosecute and no meaningful custodial sentence, and one matter, delayed for years through procedural failures, may yet end in a constitutionally permanent acquittal.
