Just wondering if anyone has reliable information on the total Quota of Buffalo, Lion and Elephant for Zimbabwe this year? In other words how much extra are the goverment bleeding out of the hunters with the price hikes?
Scott

sjb - less than half the quota is on National Parks land. The rest is in tribal areas (communal lands) or private land.

Second, none of the money actually goes to Government anymore. It goes to National Parks which is a self funding parastatal.

Parks are Broke and failing to setle all their bills for several years now. It is the refusal of Government to bail them out that has, in part, triggered the astronomical fee increases - not just in the hunting sector but even more so in the photographic and eco-tourism sectors. Charges for local residents to put a boat on lake Kariba has gone up 300% etc.

The hunting sector is better organised and beter represented than other parts of the tourism industry and have, accordingly, bought the most pressure to bear on parks and appealed to Government to step in and get Parks to be reaonable.

One of the major downsides to the privitising of Parks is that they have become a competitor in the hunting field as well as the regulatory authority. They have their own hunting company and market and conduct their own hunts (well they pretend they do - they effectively sub contract).

Ganyana, may have missed it but this is First time I have seen price rises mentioned for the other sections that Parks control. Does not make the 300% increase any more justified but at least it is not solely aimed at hunters....
Scott