[FEL-L] Cheetahs

[james e broaddus]

I have ask the question about Cheetah hunting in Namibia and my friend
Theirry Plaud who has been to South Africa to study this species has
advised the following:

In Namibia, Cheetahs are still hunted either via special permits or if a 
given animal is considered a "problem animal", which means an animal 
preying on domestic stock.
 
Namibia has the largest population of remaining wild cheetahs (between 
2500 and 3500) so a lot of people there do not understand that they are 
facing extinction in a near future. Most of those cats are living on 
farmland and are not well liked by farmers to say the least.
This is why the Anatolian shepherd dog project was initiated and it may 
be one of the biggest hope for the free ranging cheetahs since every 
farmer who got one of those dogs stopped hunting cheetahs.

I have paraphrased Thierry's email, but essentially Cheetah hunting is
still legal in the African Country.

Jim Broaddus
Bear Creek Feline Center