2 NGOs haul DFFE before court in bid to save African penguins from extinction
BirdLife South Africa and SANCCOB have hauled the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment before court for allegedly ignoring recommendations made by a panel of experts to save the penguins from extinction.
African penguins coming ashore. Picture: Dan Callister/GroundUp
CAPE TOWN - A landmark court case against the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) is underway, as two environmental NGOs seek to save the endangered African penguin from extinction.
BirdLife South Africa and the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) have hauled the department before court for allegedly ignoring recommendations made by a panel of experts to save the penguins from extinction.
The environmental NGOs first approached the Pretoria High Court in March to set aside the department's decision to allow fishing around key African penguin breeding colonies.
Biodiversity Law Centre founder, Kate Handley, who is representing the NGOs in court, said the department's decision threatened the already endangered African penguin with extinction.
"What became abundantly clear from the record is that the minister has simply been unable to take decisive action and there have been delays on the part of the department in making decisions around island closures, which are now recognised as a necessary and appropriate conservation intervention."
The department said the matter was ongoing and would proceed in the North Gauteng High Court in October.