WILDLEX

In 1995 a wildlife officer received information that the appellants have been engaged in illegally trafficking in white-tailed deer, deer and elk antlers, and moose. As a result of the resulting investigation the appellants were charged with a variety of offences contrary to The Wildlife Act, S.S.

Mr. Sawicki plead guilty under The Wildlife Act, 1998, for trafficking in wildlife and possession of wildlife for the purpose of trafficking, contrary to s.44(a) and s.44(b). He was sentenced to 15 months to be served in the community (a conditional sentence).

This is a case of appeal. The respondent was accused on three charges listed above. The question was, whether the permits the respondent (at that time: the accused) carried were technically valid for the actions he committed.

At the heart of this matter were the customary rights to marine resources. The appellants were tried at the Magistrate court and later appealed to the High Court in Mthatha. The Hight Court, however, held that their conduct was unlawful because they had not applied for an exemption as contemplated in the MLRA, granting them a permit to fish.

The court held that the appellants were protecting the lives of the cubs and as well as their legal interest in the survical of the cubs as the owners of the very expensive animals.

The appellant was found to have been complicit in the transaction where a fake rhino horn was sold in a police trap for R350 000. He was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment. The appellant unsuccessfully appealed to the Free State High Court against his conviction and sentence.