By Don Pinnock• 25 November 2019

(Photo: EPA-EFE / Kim Ludbrook)
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In the matter of guarding the chicken run, there’s a big difference between giving the job to a chicken or a fox. In October the government appointed a high-level panel ‘to review policies, legislation and practices related to the management of elephant, leopard, rhino and lion’. A check on its members suggests there’s something distinctly fox-like about its composition. It could be a tactic to bypass a parliamentary resolution.

Let’s start with which of these wild animals need management and legislation. There are already extensive norms and standards in place governing elephant management, new rhino legislation is in process, leopards are not a big issue at the moment. So in fact this high-level panel is really about lions – and they are urgently in need of help.

In 2018, lions were the focus of a two-day colloquium…