Fate of the African penguin remains undecided in landmark case
In March, the environmental NGO approached the High Court to set aside the department's decision to allow commercial fishing around key African penguin breeding colonies.
African penguins, photographed here in Simon’s Town, could be extinct as soon as 2035, according to BirdLife South Africa and SANCCOB (Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds). Picture: Dan Callister/GroundUp
CAPE TOWN - The fate of the African penguin remains undecided as a landmark case against the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment drags on in the Pretoria High Court.
Birdlife South Africa and the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds have sued the department for allegedly ignoring recommendations made by an expert panel to save endangered penguins from extinction.
In March, the environmental NGO approached the High Court to set aside the department's decision to allow commercial fishing around key African penguin breeding colonies.
READ: Former environment minister Barbara Creecy under fire from penguin conservation groups
Biodiversity Law Centre founder Kate Handley, who is representing the NGO's in court, said commercial fishing poses the biggest threat to endangered penguins.
Handley said the state has delayed proceedings after belatedly filing its court papers in September.
"This unfortunately upset the timeline for the hearing of the matter which was set down for 22 to 24 October this year. The parties subsequently wrote to the deputy judge president of the Pretoria High Court and received a new allocation date."
The matter will be heard from the 18th to the 20th of March next year.