Import ban on hunting trophies to destroy conservation

The ban on the importation of hunting trophies from Southern African countries which has been proposed by several European countries, will destroy conservation in Namibia. Speaking to Tourismus Namibia, tourism minister Pohamba Shifeta said that these proposals are uncalled for and just another way to recolonise countries to block them from generating their own income through their own resources. “This is also discouraging for us to pursue our successful products of conservation. We have succeeded with our conservation products and that is why we have a booming population of wildlife.”Shifeta said that Namibia’s Constitution provides a mandate not only to conserve biodiversity but also to utilise the country’s natural resources.“To block and ban the import of hunting trophies knowing that these are mostly from conservancies which are owned by communities, is really to block income to these conservancies.”Shifeta explained that conservancies earn an income from trophy hunts which they then use for projects to improve their livelihoods. “If you block that, it discourages these communities from making money and from managing wildlife and the sustainable use of natural resources.”He stressed that at the moment the communities benefit from wildlife through sustainable conservation hunting and generating income.“Communities are worried about what is happening. Conservancy associations are all singing one song and that is that these European countries are trying to recolonise us. They are claiming that this is not only to recolonise us but to starve us. This is the song coming from all these associations.”Ban explainedShifeta made mention of the letter he sent to his counterparts in Germany and the UK earlier this year in which he clearly explained that a ban on importing hunting trophies from Namibia would not be in the best interest of conservation, but will destroy it. Shifeta explained that should this ban be approved, communities will not tolerate wildlife anymore if they are not able to generate any money from wildlife and benefit from it. He said at the moment, even when wildlife such as elephants damage properties or crop fields, communities tolerate it because they earn money through trophy hunts. However, should these hunts be banned, Shifeta said communities would retaliate, which will have spillover impacts on tourism and the about 5 000 people employed in conservancies and their families, as well as the meat that community members receive from hunts.According to Shifeta, many proposals to ban trophies are driven by the narrative in European countries that trophy hunting increases poaching. “This is not the case. However, a ban on the importation will destroy wildlife conservation. This will be the end of the complete conservation community should they achieve this [the ban]. That is what I told them.”He said the fear is that if this ban passes in one country, other countries may follow suit, including Namibia’s bigger markets such as the US, UK, Germany and Belgium. Some feedbackShifeta said that some countries have provided feedback that although they understand the situation, there are also politics involved and they have made promises and sold these ideas to their electorates to ban the importation of hunting trophies. “That is another problem. People do not consider the impact of their political decisions and ideas and what it will have on other countries.“At first I thought it was a question of not understanding. But they do understand the impacts it will have on us. It is purely political.”He said that Namibia appreciates the US squashing a motion in that country to ban the import of hunting trophies. “For many countries, it is for political gain, however, most countries have political relations and while they feel it is their domestic affairs, international rules must also be taken into account.”Shifeta said that for instance, when you consider the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), what these countries are doing is not by its laws, rules and regulations. He said Southern African countries have already threatened to leave CITES and should this continue, they will walk away from the international body. In 2022, the 68 conservancies in Namibia generated cash income and in-kind benefits of over N$140 million - the highest since 2019.Community conservation covers 59.6% of all communal land in Namibia, housing an estimated 245 000 residents.

Import ban on hunting trophies to destroy conservation

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Allgemeine Zeitung 2024-11-15

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Import ban on hunting trophies to destroy conservation

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Allgemeine Zeitung 2024-11-15

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