Namibia: Trophy Hunting for Black Rhinos on the Cards


The Namibian (Windhoek)

29 April 2008
Posted to the web 29 April 2008

Absalom Shigwedha
Windhoek

THE Ministry of Environment and Tourism is close to granting an annual black rhino trophy-hunting quota in protected areas.

No such quota has been granted since Cites gave permission for it in 2004, because Government has been working on a policy on tourism and wildlife concessions on State land, Louisa Mupetami, a conservation scientist in the Ministry, said last week.


Cabinet approved the policy last year, she said.

"The Ministry is now preparing for the allocation of concessions on State land, including for the trophy hunting of the five black rhinos," Mupetami told The Namibian.

The 13th conference of the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) held in Thailand in 2004 gave Namibia and South Africa permission to allow the hunting of five black rhinos a year.

Mupetami said Namibia's black rhino population had recovered from 90 individuals in 1967 to an estimated 1 300 individuals today.

"The Namibian black rhino population is very healthy and the biggest of the sub-species Diceros bicornis," she added.


She said only "surplus" animals will be considered for trophy hunting and preference will be given to post-reproductive males, but occasionally other males considered as problem animals would be targeted too.

The Cites decision to allow rhino hunting in Namibia and South Africa drew huge opposition from animal rights groups.

Cites lists the black rhino as a critically endangered species.

Interesting developement. Genuinely curious here - are rhinos declared as "PAC" like elephant, lion, croc, and hippo?

i presume that1st mortgage or contract for deed are acceptable terms

RSA gets a couple of Black Rhino permits each year from what I understand. Cost? Over $250K. That doesn't slow down the line forming at the rear. A huge White Rhino (33" or longer) is approaching $200K. All I can say is ask Santa
LDK

quote:

Originally posted by pinotguy:
Interesting developement. Genuinely curious here - are rhinos declared as "PAC" like elephant, lion, croc, and hippo?

PAC usually denotes non exportable and that isn't the case with rhino as they come with a CITES export permit....... however, the animals that are taken (at this stage) have usually been identified as old males that are past breeding and often are also attacking younger (breeding) males.

Current asking price (if there is such a thing) is usually around US$180000. - Not worth it IMO.

If memory serves me right, on Tracks Across Africa Boddington was hunting a PAC lion and said it was exportable from Namibia. Maybe Namibia has slightly different regulations regarding PAC hunts.

I would second Shakari's post. The only black rhino that are going to be available for hunts are almost certainly going to be old males past their breeding best. The males of this species/subspecies will occasionally kill sub-adult calves of their own kind and being mainly solitary and territorial, generally cause havoc with breeding animals, which may not be wanted, and hence should be available for hunts.