The judgement of the owner of Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre (HESC), Lente Roode was handed down at the Lenyenye Regional Court on Wednesday, November 3. Roode has been found guilty on all counts for contravening the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act and the Animal Disease Act. Roode contravened these acts when she moved four male cheetahs named Walter, Magnus, Tobie and Wim on April 4, 2020 without written permission.
Limpopo National Prosecuting Authority’s spokesperson, Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi, said Roode allegedly unlawfully ordered that four cheetahs from HESC be released and moved to a neighbouring farm without obtaining the necessary permit to move the protected animals. “She carried out a restricted activity involving a specimen of a listed, threatened, or protected species without a permit,” she said. It is alleged that she failed to comply with control measures and did not obtain permits to move the animals from a state veterinarian.
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HESC has been breeding cheetahs since 1990 and focuses on the conservation of rare, vulnerable and endangered animal species. Cheetah conservation is one of their core disciplines. In her previous court appearance, both the state and the defendant presented their arguments and Roode through her lawyer denied that she acted unlawfully and maintains that she acted in an act of necessity.
She said HESC depends on tourism and when that came to a standstill in March 2020 due to Covid-19 they could not afford to feed all the animals. She also argued that she did not have sufficient time to apply for the permits and said when cheetahs are not properly fed they die. The state argued that Roode had the required intention to commit the crimes stipulated. When handing down the judgement, the magistrate, Carol Hon’wana, said Roode has been found guilty of five counts and acquitted on alternatives to count five. The matter has been postponed to Monday, November 15 for mitigation and aggravation of sentence proceedings.
