Dec 18, 2013 | News
A 49-year-old Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority ranger was killed by an elephant while on patrol at Rifa Education Camp in Chirundu during early December. Mashonaland West Provincial police spokesperson Inspector Clemence Mabweazara identified the deceased as Mukusa Mathews. Inspector Mabweazara said Mathews and Muphin Chirisa were on patrol when they were visited by the now deceased’s niece, Catherine Muzeza. They took Muzeza home and on their way back they encountered a herd of elephants.One of the elephants charged towards the rangers, who were armed with AK47 rifles. Mathews fired a shot in the air to stop it, but it kept charging. It attacked Mathews, breaking his skull and legs, and he died instantly.
A rogue lion has killed the 71-year old Lucy Bakari from the village of Masuguru in the Nanyumbu District. The villagers claim that game officers did not respond to their requests for assistance, so they went hunting the lion. One Fadhili Dijangu killed the lion with an axe during the hunt.
Dec 18, 2013 | News
The Namibian Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) has begun exploring innovative ways to protect its wildlife assets. The MET is working with international partners such as the Wildlife Crime Technology Project of the WWF-US to facilitate the use of the technology. The funding was secured through the Google Global Impact Awards system.
Trials were held at Waterberg Plateau Park from 18 to 22 November to asses a range of high technology tools that can assist in the fight against wildlife crime.The international team also included two unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) suppliers selected from over 50 international applicants. Wildlife tagging experts flew in from both America and South Africa.Two specialists from a global tactical surveillance and communications company have been working with MET on surveillance technology for some time and where on hand to ensure that all of the new applications can be integrated into an overall surveillance system. The team also included people exploring cost-effective analytical software, which can be used to store and easily access all the data being gathered.
Dec 18, 2013 | News
A report produced by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network (TRAFFIC) indicate that approximately 45 elephants per day were illegally killed in 2011 in every two of five protected sites holding elephant populations in Africa.
The report said that this is due to the growing illegal trade in ivory, which continues to threaten the survival of elephants on the continent.The 17,000 elephants illegally killed in 2011 lived at sites monitored through the CITES-led Monitoring Illegal Killing of Elephants programme. The sites monitored hold approximately 40% of the total elephant population in Africa.
The joint report: Elephants in the Dust: The African Elephant Crisis warns that increasing poaching and loss of habitat, are threatening the survival of African elephant populations in Central Africa and in previously secure populations in West, Southern and Eastern Africa.
Dec 18, 2013 | News
Tanzania’s policy to maintain at least 32% of the country under protected forest cover has been lauded in the international media.
The Director of Environment in Vice President’s Office, Dr Julius Ningu, recently told the Science Journalists Association at Tanzania’s Commission for Science and Technology. He said that the policy had been put into place to counter changes in the frequency and severity of climate events, such as heat waves, droughts, floods and storms. He said that the intention of the policy was to ensure that climate change does not affect the country’s development efforts. Dr Ningu also claimed that Tanzania had good laws to protect the environment and environmental action plans at various levels.
Dec 18, 2013 | News
The management and staff of the AHI Bulletin and the African Hunting Gazette wish the entire international firearms and hunting industry a happy and prosperous festive season and great success on the 2014 expo circuit. We hope that 2014 will be an extremely successful season for all and that the world will be spared any tragedies caused by the mentally ill and then blamed on the existence of firearms. We also pray that poaching will be brought under increasing control and that wildlife management all around the world will increasingly improve.
Dec 6, 2013 | News
In the December edition of African Indaba, (a hunting newsletter) the author of one of the stories criticises The South African Professional Hunting Association (PHASA)for making ‘an about turn’ on its lion hunting policy. The author is a well-known hunter, and has been very vocal on his stance about hunting ethics. Yet he wrote how he justified shooting a buffalo from the vehicle and this was not wrong! A complete contradiction of the Rowland Ward Guild Membership Rules which he introduced, and within which specifically preclude this mode of hunting.
Embracing and adopting the lion hunting practice in South Africa is the boldest thing, in my opinion, that PHASA has done in the past decade. Here’s why:
Pressure on wild lions: There is limited research to indicate whether the harvesting of 600-plus lions in South Africa actually relieves the pressure on the hunted free-range lions around Africa. What is certain is that hunters who used to hunt, or have wanted to hunt lion outside South Africa, but have not got their trophy, or can’t afford to hunt anymore in countries like Zimbabwe or Tanzania, are turning to South Africa to hunt their lion. Why? At $100 000- plus for the chance of finding a lion, along with other complications like whether it is over six years in age (even though this method of testing is inconclusive), versus the security of knowing you will take your trophy for less than half that amount is a no-brainer for some hunters. This simple appeal for captive bred lions has to be good for the long-term plight of the wild lion.
Fair hunt: Most writers on the subject have not actually hunted one of these lions in South Africa, yet they are so quick to comment on how authentic or not the hunt is. Everyone is well versed on the captive breeding of superior trophy White Tails in the USA and the ever-growing practice with other species here in South Africa and Namibia – all in the quest to satisfy the inch-fanatic hunter.
Public perceptions: Try explaining the difference between a dead lion next to the big game hunter, be if from the free wilderness of Namibia or a captive-breed operation in Limpopo. The lion is dead and there is a delighted hunter next to the trophy, period. Where the lion originated is secondary to the fact that most members of the public cannot understand how we can hunt a lion. That is the hurdle we need to overcome!
Stop the squabble: What the industry’s now doing is focusing on how the chairs on the deck of the Titanic are placed instead of watching the iceberg on the horizon. Debating and engaging in internal battles about what is ethical or not, and which lions are fair game, instead of uniting and getting together to actually educate the world that there is a place for various types of lion hunting is where we are losing this window of opportunity:
Lions in my opinion can be:
- Captive bred and released on a 2500 acres or more (as per what PHASA has adopted).
- Bred on a game-fenced eco-tourism game reserve (one could argue this is, in fact, captivity) and then hunted there (which could be 25000 acres or more).
- Bred on a game-fenced reserve and then moved a 2500 acre property.
- Hunted on a state-owned free-range land
Time will tell whether this is the right decision that South Africa is adopting, but for now, it is legal, it helps promote hunting, and addresses a good number of needs within the industry. The countries that have free-range lions for now, great! But let’s stop the internal battles and work together.
Richard Lendrum – Publisher African Hunting Gazette
