Jan 27, 2014 | News
The WWF issued the following statement regarding China’s destruction of ivory: The world’s biggest consumer of trafficked ivory – most of which comes from elephants illegally killed in Africa – destroyed more than 6 metric tons of seized elephant ivory today.
This move is a hopeful signal that China is firmly behind international action to stop rampant elephant poaching and illegal ivory trade. China has previously indicated it is prepared to clamp down hard on the illegal ivory trade.
The ivory destruction takes place just weeks after eight Chinese citizens were convicted given sentences of 3 to 15 years imprisonment for smuggling a total of 3.2 tons of ivory.
Attending the ivory crushing ceremony were Chinese government officials, as well as a variety of international observers including from the United States government, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), the United Nations Environment Programme, and international non-governmental organizations including WWF and TRAFFIC.
‘China’s gesture is a solemn commitment by the government to cleanse the Chinese ivory market and to guarantee the survival of Africa’s elephants,’ said Fan Zhiyong, head of WWF-China’s Species Programme. ‘WWF believes that destroying seized ivory is a signal of the government’s commitment to enhance law enforcement against illegal ivory trade.’
China has a legal ivory market of items that pre-date the 1989 international ivory trade ban and a CITES sanctioned ‘one-off’ ivory sale with four African countries in 2008. But under rules of the CITES, seized ivory cannot be used for commercial purposes.
In the past, Kenya, Gabon, the Philippines and the United States all destroyed large amounts of illegal ivory. WWF and TRAFFIC believe that the destruction of illegal ivory should be backed by rigorous documentation, including an independent audit of the ivory slated for destruction, to reduce the potential risk that some of it could leak back into the black market.
Jan 27, 2014 | News
On 20 December 2013 the Professional Hunters’ Association of South Africa (PHASA) announced that it has appointed Hermann Meyeridricks as its new president.
Meyeridricks holds degrees in Commerce and Law at Stellenbosch University and a higher diploma in Tax Law from the University of Cape Town. Mr. Meyeridricks takes over from Hans Vermaak who had served his two-year term as president.
Jan 27, 2014 | News
PHASA has been criticized by prominent hunters such as Gerhard Damm and Peter Flack for its stance on the hunting of captive bred lions.
PHASA recently issued a statement indicating that it felt that Messrs Damm and Flack did not distinguish between canned lion hunting and captive bred lion hunting. PHASA said that canned hunting, which is illegal in South Africa, is when the animal is hunted while it is drugged or in an enclosed hunting area too small for the lion to evade the hunter; in captive-bred hunting, the animal is released into an extensive wildlife system to be hunted in accordance with South Africa’s strict and explicit regulations.
It proceeded to state that PHASA has always been strongly opposed to canned hunting and that it would continue to work with the government and the law enforcement agencies to eradicate the practice. From 2006 until its 2013 AGM PHASA’s position on captive bred hunting was that it supported the responsible hunting of all species in a sustainable wildlife system, in which animals can fend for themselves, provided that they are hunted in accordance with the laws of the land and PHASA’s own code of conduct.
According to PHASA a number of developments necessitated a review of its 2006 position. First, the South African Predator Breeders’ Association (SAPA) won its appeal against the Minister of Environmental Affairs in 2010, effectively ending any attempts to stop the practice in South Africa; second, the Department of Environmental Affairs has itself significantly softened its stance on the activity, calling it sustainable; and third, demand for lion hunting continues to grow.
Given this growth in demand, the fact that captive-bred lion hunting was deemed legal and sustainable by our courts and government, and the potential risks that continued unethical hunting practices in the captive-bred hunting industry posed to traditional trophy hunting, PHASA felt that it would be a dereliction of its duties to simply distance ourselves from the practice while ignoring continued unethical hunting and the damage this could cause to the reputation of all trophy hunting activities.
As such, PHASA entered into a dialogue with SAPA to improve the conditions in which lions are reared and hunted, and over the two year period it assisted SAPA to develop a set of norms which PHASA believes is a good starting point to ensure that captive-bred lion hunting is carried out responsibly.
Jan 27, 2014 | News
Tanzania is yet to decide on what exactly it should do with its own ivory stockpile.
Deputy Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Mr Lazaro Nyalandu said the country has a bulging stockpile of elephant tusks stored safely in state warehouses, but what Tanzania is going to do with them is something which hasn’t been decided yet.
Two years ago, the whole world raised hell when Tanzania requested permission to sell off the ivory stockpile it accumulated over the past 25 years. The stockpile exceeds 100 metric tonnes and is valued at US $60 million. Mr Nyalandu said that the stockpile consists of legally accumulated tusks from animals that expired naturally and ivories confiscated from people who harvested them illegally through killing the jumbos.
Jan 27, 2014 | News
According to statistics issued by the DEAT the rhino poaching figures are as follows:
- 2011 – 448
- 2012 – 668 with 267 arrests
- 2013 – 1004 with 343 arrests
- 2014 – 37 with 6 arrests
Jan 27, 2014 | News
The decision by the Namibian Department of the Environment and Tourism to have a permit for the hunting of a black rhino auctioned off caused an international outcry.
The decision to put down the black rhino was prompted by the fact that the black rhino is old, male and non-breeding and it threatens the lives of other wildlife. Saturday night’s auction was attended by a high-level ministerial delegation from the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, led by the ministry’s deputy permanent secretary Simon Negumbo. The money raised for the Namibian permit will go towards conservation efforts for the species. An American hunter Corey Knowlton purchased the permit for US$ 350,000.
Wayne Pacelle, the chief executive officer and president of the Humane Society of the United States, said the group has a general objection to trophy hunting and considers it morally questionable to raise money for conservation by selling permits to kill endangered species. Anti-hunting and animal rights groups apparently sent death threats to DSC staff regarding the auction.
The Dallas Safari Club, which hosted the auction, had hoped that the permit sale would raise US$ 1 million. DSC said the hunt will help in managing the population and provide an underfunded Namibian government cash in the expensive battle against poachers. The licence allows for the killing of a single, post-breeding bull. DSC Executive Director Ben Carter is quoted to have said: ‘These bulls no longer contribute to the growth of the population and are in a lot of ways detrimental to the growth of the population because black rhinos are very aggressive and territorial. In many cases, they will kill younger, nonbreeding bulls and have been known to kill calves and cows’.
The Namibian Minister of Environment and Tourism, Uahekua Herunga, is reported to have said that he was pleased with the amount raised through the sale. The minister conceded that there had been criticism over the government’s decision to allow the killing of the endangered animal, but insisted that: ‘We (Namibia) should be allowed as a country to exercise our right to utilise our natural resources sustainably’.
Jan 10, 2014 | News
“Some people have a problem with hunting, but I have to be open – people have to understand that hunting is part of our conservation programme” – the words of Namibia’s former Minister of Tourism and current Minister of Foreign Affairs, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah at the opening of the recent World Adventure Travel Summit in Namibia. By any standard, Namibia is forging ahead as a leading destination in the world of conservation beset with many of the challenges under-developed African countries are also faced with. Yet, words from the top of the government that hunting forms a part of their program could not be more plainly put.
Do we all have to like it or engage in the practice of hunting? No. And this is where people are missing something. All we ask is that due consideration is given to review the facts. Avoid jumping to any end of the emotional spectrum. Whether the rhino has passed its prime or not, the concept of sustainable utilization, or harvesting – the term used by some – is what we’re talking about. This ‘bloodlust’, ‘love of the great outdoors’, ‘answering the call of some primitive instincts’, whatever one wants to label the activity of hunting, given its correct management, it has never negatively affected the wildlife population. It has only benefited. And there are countless examples, right here in South Africa being probably the best.
How the animal is removed from its population is the issue for many, and that, quite honestly, can be understandable and disturbing for some.
What the proceeds of sustainable utilization can offer is in little dispute, and congratulations to Namibia for having such an overt stance on the subject. The ‘million-dollar’ black rhino auctioned at Dallas Safari Club is about as good an example as you will get anywhere.
South Africa, on the other hand, having lead the world’s white rhino recovery largely as a result of the value attached to the species, is slow as a nation to take a public stance on the subject, despite it being legal! A few years ago, Pilanesberg sold of one of their black rhinos for a little under R2million, and yet even today, our Ministry devotes not a cent to the promotion of hunting.
South Africa is the largest hunting destination in Africa, more than the rest of Africa combined, and still has the potential to double its numbers. The growth of land under conservation, directly as a result of private game management ( which includes hunting) – and largely, unfortunately, by white farmers – is not only outstripping State ownership but appears to be the only hope for the future growth and security of biodiversity management.
Rhino breeders, some of whom have more rhino than most of the countries in Africa where they once roamed free, have long held the view that the only solution is to lift the trade in rhino product. Why? Simply put, when an animal can produce a commodity that is valuable, be it a cow, mink or rhino, there is little or no chance of it going extinct. People are driven by money and will do what they can to not only keep the rhino alive, but to get them reproducing. That is the basic law of supply and demand. Sure, some will argue that these animals are not in the wild. That may be so, but they could be, as part of the program, and for certain, if their numbers keep increasing, they will not go extinct – which, after all is the number one objective.
Richard Lendrum – Publisher African Hunting Gazette
Dec 18, 2013 | News
The attention of international hunters are drawn to the assistance PHASA offers international hunting tourists via a co-operation agreement with Bangy Travel.
PHASA can apply for a temporary firearm importation permit or an in-transit permit for the client prior to arrival.
A representative from Bangy Travel will meet the client on behalf of PHASA in the SA Police office at OR Tambo (Johannesburg) Airport with the permit.
The representative will then assist the client with firearms clearing.
For more information contact Mrs Du Plooyat the PHASA office, or email her at: phasa@phasa.co.za. Terms and conditions naturally apply.
Dec 18, 2013 | News
The Professional Hunters Association of SA is busy promoting the fact that foreign and local clients who hunt with PHASA members have the opportunity to enter their trophies for PHASA Medals and Certificates. PHASA uses the SCI methods of measurement for its Trophy Medal Scoring System. All measurements are green measurements without drying period except for white rhinoceros horns which must be measured 30 days after collection.The PHASA trophy medal measurements are not automatic entries into any record book. The cost of participating is:
Medals/Certificates
- Gold medal: 22 carat gold plated $50
- Silver medal: pure silver plated $35
- Bronze medal: bronze plated $25
Each medal is accompanied by an attractive certificate which includes hunter’s name, trophy, score, place, date, and name of professional hunter and outfitter.Sample sets of medals and certificates are available to members for R200.00 to have on hand to promote to clients.
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.
