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President Cyril Ramaphosa has denied allegations that he raises and sells animals from his Phala Phala wildlife breeding operation for trophy hunting.
The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta), an American nonprofit animal rights organization, said Friday that its secret investigation found that Ramaphosa secretly benefits from trophy hunting through the hunting company. Tsala Hunting Safaris.
It alleged that the president owns a stake in the company.
Peta’s recordings of Ramaphosa managers reveal that she is quietly developing and expanding a trophy hunting property called Diepdrift, stocking it with animals from her personal wildlife husbandry operation, Phala Phala, and owning a 50% stake. at Tsala Hunting Safaris.
“The group recorded conversations in which Ramaphosa staff admit that they equally share the proceeds of all hunts carried out through Tsala and spoke of the importance of concealing their involvement.
“One said, ‘We try to keep the president’s name out of the hunt issue…. So [Ramaphosa] I want to save this, how can I say, bad publicity and all that. So … we have to do it with a different brand, where none of my name or his are connected to it. ‘
“President Ramaphosa is lining his pockets with the cold-blooded killing of curious and gentle elephants and other wild animals, which deserve protection, not exploitation,” says Peta President Ingrid Newkirk.
“Most South Africans will not applaud their president for auctioning off the country’s wildlife to overseas trophy hunters for personal gain.”
However, the president has denied involvement in illegal or unethical activities in any way, adding that neither he nor Phala Phala have any involvement in the trophy hunting industry nor in Tsala Hunting Safaris.
“Phala Phala is a privately owned wildlife farm whose business is game farming. Tsala are privately owned hunting providers. Phala Phala has been in operation since 2010 and is managed according to the strictest principles of wildlife conservation and management.
“Phala Phala’s wildlife management and husbandry activities comply with the best ethical and legal practices in the sector,” it said in a statement.
According to the president, his company had reached an agreement with Tsala Hunting Safaris to hunt animals in its annual sacrifices of animals such as impala, buffalo, kudu and wildebeest to avoid carrying an excessive number, a game that in any case would have been sacrificed.
Phala Phala Wildlife, however, notified Tsala Safaris to terminate the hunting agreement following other accusations against the company.
“That Peta US continues to use its platforms to spread false information about Phala Phala Wildlife and President Ramaphosa is totally regrettable.”
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