Defending the Defenceless: Watch Carte Blanche, this Sunday 9 May 2021 at 19:00, only on M-Net
S E E K I N G J U S T I C E
Defending Lebo: Social Welfare Unwell
Lebo was orphaned at the age of seven months and grew up with a stepfather who sexually abused her for most of her life. At the age of 15, she finally summoned the courage to run away from home – where Carte Blanche picks up her story as we visit one NGO after another, seeking help for the traumatised young girl. As the fallout of the pandemic has stretched the resources of families, NGOs and the state to the max, we ask: what happens to the most vulnerable in our country?
Producer: Anina Peens | Presenter: Derek Watts
Justice for Hector
It was a protest against the abuse of a vulnerable puppy that saw a Western Cape community rise up to take a stand outside court after a video clip of the dog being mistreated by its pet sitters went viral on social media. In an unregulated industry that is not formalised around professional standards, the SPCA intervened and launched an investigation. Carte Blanche examines how the precedent has challenged how an industry is set up and previews what a possible conviction in the ensuing court case might mean for the accused and other pet sitters.
Producer: Annalise Lubbe | Presenter: Masa Kekana
Masa Kekana: “Minister Barbara Creecy’s recent announcement came as a pleasant surprise for animal activists and conservationists. Not only that, but it also grabbed international attention, boosting Brand SA and reaffirming SA’s place on the tourism map.”
Drawing a Lion in the Sand
Carte Blanche first broadcast the Cooke Report exposé on canned lion hunting in 1997. Two decades later, the captive lion industry has expanded in scope and brutality – cubs are removed from their mothers, hand-reared, petted, then bred for the bullet or their bones. But these practices began to damage Brand SA and, by 2019, the new minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, Barbara Creecy appointed a high-level panel to advise her on the next steps for this industry. Last Sunday, she released her recommendations in an almost 600-page report. The findings signal a seismic shift away from captive breeding and hunting toward a new era for wildlife conservation in South Africa. The news is good for our struggling tourism sector and quickly went global. But will the multi-million rand hunting industry take these changes lying down?
Producer: Joy Summers | Presenter: Masa Kekana
S E E K I N G H O P E
Claire Mawisa: “Nobody loves an update more than I do, especially when the stories are about triumph over adversity. There are people I get to speak to that I will never forget. I’m so glad I could catch up with some of them a year later.”
COVID-19 – One Year On
After a year of unparalleled tribulation with the country in the grip of a global pandemic, Carte Blanche recaps what happened to people featured in nearly 50 stories from the past year who were simply trying to make the best of a bad situation. We went from the first shocks of having to close businesses as lockdown hit hard, to birthing new life in isolation without partners by their side, and following frontline workers struggling on the job, in the face of the unknown, without sleep as patients battled the disease and its long-term impact. We unpacked the science as it developed and the politics of coming to terms with the disease and treatments, all while trying to find reasons to hope. Now, we celebrate the grit and tenacity of some amazing South Africans that survived and thrived.
Producer: Stenette Grosskopf | Presenter: Claire Mawisa
Please note: Carte Blanche line-ups are subject to change. Stories can be viewed at www.carteblanche.co.za
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