{
  "id": 5380386,
  "title": "OP-ED: Trophy hunting quotas: Civil society objected, but did anyone in government listen?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/03/op-ed-trophy-hunting-quotas-civil-society-objected-but-did-anyone-in",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-03T18:14:29.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Daily Maverick",
    "slug": "daily-maverick",
    "url": "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-09-03-trophy-hunting-quotas-civil-society-objected-but-did-anyone-in-government-listen-1/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In South Africa, the government has released new trophy hunting quotas for elephants, black rhinos, and leopards, but the reasoning behind these decisions remains largely undisclosed. Following the public consultation process, civil society organizations have been left to use access-to-information legislation to ascertain whether their concerns were taken into account. On August 31st, Environment Minister David Maynier announced South Africa's CITES export quotas for 2026 and 2027, authorizing the export of 300 elephant tusks per year from no more than 150 elephants, 11 black rhino trophies annually, and 11 leopard trophies in 2026, with the number dropping to 10 in 2027. While the decision appears to have followed the public submissions, the lack of transparency in the process raises concerns. There is no published comments-and-responses report, no identifiable Non-Detriment Findings, and no disclosure of the Scientific Authority's recommendation or population models. Consequently, it remains unclear whether the government officials who authorized these quotas considered the objections raised by concerned organizations.",
  "summary": "South Africa has published new trophy hunting quotas for elephants, black rhinos and leopards, yet the scientific and administrative record behind those decisions remains largely invisible. After detailed objections were submitted during the public consultation process, civil society organisations are now being forced to use access-to-information legislation simply to discover whether their…",
  "key_points": [
    "South Africa releases trophy hunting quotas for elephants, rhinos, leopards.",
    "Civil society uses access-to-information to check government's concerns.",
    "Lack of transparency raises doubts on government's consideration of objections."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}