From The Sunday Times September 7, 2008

Namibia stands firm on hunting

Chris Haslam

Following last week’s news that desert elephants were being targeted by hunters in Namibia, tour operators are calling for a moratorium in a bid to head off a tourist boycott.

Of the six breeding bulls sold to trophy hunters - at £20,000 a head - five are already dead. Conservationists say the slaughter jeopardises the future of the desert herds, but the Namibian government has defended its decision, prompting international condemnation.

“Wildlife is worth more to Namibia alive than dead,†says Expert Africa’s Chris McIntyre. “While trophy hunting brings more cash in one lump sum, wildlife tourism brings far greater financial rewards over a longer period.â€

The Namibian tourism minister, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, says that the elephants can sustain the losses and that the quotas include “problem†animals. “Addressing human-wildlife conflict requires a balance between conservation and the needs of people living with wildlife,†he said.

Hi every one.
Just passing my 50 sent on the issue of the Kunene Elephants.
We have a hunting lodge situated in the Huab River, one of the migration routes of the Namibian Desert Elephants. The last couple of nights an elephant came to visit us at the lodge again. He was a young male of about 35 years, healthy and in a very good condition. We have Elephants on or our property and surrounding areas on a permanent basis. But to have one of the "last breading bulls" are really a privilege.
The classification of these animals as stated by some people are geographical, they remain to be Loxodonta African and not a different species.
They are not more endangered as any other elephant and with a population growth of 3.3 %. The average growth for a healthy population is 3%. They seem to be doing well.
Male Elephant reach sexual maturity between 7 – 18 years with over 1500 elephants in the region it is hard to believe there are only 5 bulls breading.
They must have one hell of a job getting around to all those cows.
Some people seem to be doing what they normally do when they don’t have anything else to do and that is sturing up SH**t.
I’m completely for the idea of preserving elephant for the future but being in the hunting industry I recognise Trophy hunting as one of the most power full tools for preserving a species as long as coincide with a management plan of some sort.

I guess I’m just fed up with the issue and how it is blown out of proportion over here and abroad. We live with desert elephant on a daily basis and see the conflict between the community and if it was not for the government giving out these quotas and money going back to the community suffering losses, a lot more Elephants will be killed by locals. Doing a lot more damage to the population.

My apologies if the report from our minister HON. NETUMBO NANDI-NDAITWAH has already made it on to the forum but I’m going to put it on again for those who haven’t read it.

Kind Regards and those who is going to hunt Africa next season all the best.



MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT AND TOURISM

PRESS STATEMENT BY HON. NETUMBO NANDI-NDAITWAH, MP MINISTER

ON THE ELEPHANT NEWSPAPER ARTICLES

25 AUGUST 2008 WINDHOEK
10H00 KHOMAS REGION


“MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN
The Ministry of Environment and Tourism has learnt with concern and surprise about the inaccurate, false media reports and the assumptions made in the articles published in the Namibian Newspapers of Thursday, 31 July 2008 on an article titled “Last desert elephants in firing line†and of Thursday, 21 August 2008 on an article titled “Elephant shot dead for braai in front of touristsâ€, respectively.

I would like to bring to the attention of the general public and the international community that elephants occur across the entire north of Namibia with two main subpopulations in the north-east and the north-west. In 2004 the total population was estimated at over 16 000 animals and, allowing for underestimates on aerial surveys, the true number this year is likely to be over 20 000.

The north-western population is about 4 000 animals and includes the elephants in the Etosha National Park. Elephants are being seen as far south as the Ugab River and in all of the river catchments which flow westwards to the Atlantic Ocean in the north.


The north-eastern population is over 16 000 animals. The recent increases are well in excess of normal growth rates and must be attributed to immigration from the northern Botswana population which is about 150 000 elephants, and the north-western Zimbabwe population which is about 50 000 elephants.


The conservation status of elephants in Namibia is more than satisfactory, their numbers already exceed what many would consider desirable for the available habitats and they have been identified as a possible threat to other rare and valuable species which Namibia is trying to conserve. There are no limiting factors preventing an increase in their numbers.

Elephants are classified as Specially Protected Game under Namibian law. Namibia’s wildlife legislation requires the preparation of management plans for species which are rare or valuable. Elephants are not rare in Namibia but they are potentially valuable and a management plan is in place.

In 1996, the Government of the Republic of Namibia through the Ministry of Environment and Tourism amended legislation, the Nature Conservation Amendment Act of 1996 (Act 5 of 1996) to allow for the formation of Communal Area Conservancies that gave consumptive and non-consumptive utilization rights of wildlife to rural communities.



Communal area conservancies manage 120 000 km square of communal land in Namibia and thus over 220 620 people live within these conservancies. To date, there are 52 registered conservancies that generate over N$ 6 million from consumptive utilization of wildlife including trophy hunting of elephants, per year. For Kunene region there are eighteen (18) registered conservancies which also benefit from the animal quotas allocated for trophy hunting.

The three elephants in question are included on the game utilization quotas for 2008 of Conservancies in the Khorixas district in the Kunene Region. The three elephants are shared by the conservancies as follows:

Torra and Khoadi-//Hoas Conservancies - one elephant
Huab and Doro !Nawas Conservancies - one elephant
Sorris-Sorris and Otjimboyo Conservancies - one elephant

The Ministry took the decisions to award the three elephants for trophy hunting based upon the upon the approved Elephant Management Plan, existing Policies and Legislation, and most important, the results of the game census conducted from the 19th to 20th June 2007, where 365 elephants were counted at a coverage of 53, 69%. These elephants originate from the Etosha National Park population.

With the counted elephant number of 365 in that particular area, there is no way that the sex ratio of the population could be skewed to three bulls only.

These quotas include problem animals and the Ministry will only under exceptional conditions consider granting approval that any additional problem animal be destroyed.

Human Wildlife Conflict is also escalating, and in 2006, the number of problem incidents reported to the Ministry was 5 637. During the year 2007, seven people lost their lives to elephants in the North Eastern Regions of Caprivi and Kavango, one person in the Uchab area of the Kunene Region and another one in the area north of Etosha National Park.

Addressing human-wildlife conflict requires striking a balance between conservation priorities and the needs of people living with wildlife. Elephant-human conflict is not new in the Kunene Region. The issue was also brought to Cabinet already in 2000 when an American tourist was killed by an elephant, and another tourist seriously injured. Two other tourists were killed in the same region the previous year. With the above tourists incidents, Cabinet resolved that the movement of tourists in specific identified areas in Kunene be restricted because of threat to the future existence of endangered species such as elephants and black rhinos. In July 2001, Cabinet was again informed about the Elephant-human conflicts in Kunene, and the Ministry was then instructed to take certain measures to reduce the conflict such as capture and sell, trophy hunting of problem animals and additional waters for wildlife.


The allocation of elephant quotas for trophy hunting in Namibia, is also based on the number which we are allocated by CITES, which is ninety (90) elephants per year only.

It is the opinion of the Ministry that the aggressiveness of the elephants and their new migration patterns inland is an indication of disturbance in the Uchab River, probably caused more by irresponsible eco-tourism and vehicles than anything else.

Namibia’s elephant population and the Kunene population in particular, is a healthy and growing population. It is growing at about 3.3% per year. The current levels of consumptive off-take are extremely conservative. They are well below sustainable off-take levels, and the population continues to grow and expand.

There are more elephants in Namibia today than at any time in the past 100 years. One of the reasons for their increase in numbers is that they have a value, communities have rights to manage and use the wildlife, and are starting to earn significant income from wildlife and this is creating the incentives for them to look after and protect wildlife, including elephants, all of which leads to a positive conservation result.

The Ministry of Environment and Tourism has also not issued a permit for research purposes to Elephant-Human Relations Aid (EHRA) or to Mr. Johannes Haasbroek himself, in this regard. Any work being done on elephants status in the Kunene Region by this NGO is illegal and cannot be relied on.

With regard to the elephant shot in the Bwabwata National Park, it is unfortunate that a certain Andrew Momberg who is referred to in the Newspaper did not approach the Ministry of Environment and Tourism to get the exact information of what had happened.

I would like to confirm that yes an elephant was shot in the Bwabwata National Park but not for the reason of a braai for a traditional festival as stated, and of course not in front of tourists.

What happened was that on the 08th August 2008, officials of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism responsible for the management of the Bwabwata National Park at Susuwe Ranger Station were out in the Park for usual Park duties. While at an area known as Horse shoe bend on the Kwando river, a herd of eleven elephants were from drinking water and heading towards the road which the officials were using. At a distance of about 30 meters before the elephants, the officials stopped, as the elephants started to approach the vehicle. When the elephants got very close, a sub adult elephant cow appeared to have noticed that there are people at the back of the vehicle and the elephant then came aggressively for the vehicle, and the Ministry officials realized there was danger, and they quickly lied down at the back of the vehicle.

The elephant then started lifting the vehicle, probably thinking the people were under the vehicle. It pushed the car twice, and with the third push, the car was almost overturned and the officials realized there was no other option but to serve their lives and therefore the elephant was shot. The elephant was also found with a wound on its right front leg and this might have caused its aggressiveness. It could not be determined what caused the wound.

At a distance of about 500 meters, Ministry officials met a vehicle of tourists and they informed them not to proceed with that road to avoid visibility of that elephant carcass, and the tourists adhered to that.

To clear the carcass from the Park, the meat was removed and donated to the neighbouring community for own consumption.



When I visited Bwabwata National Park on the 16th August 2008, I was shown the vehicle that was almost overturned by the elephant, and the dent or mark by the elephant on the vehicle was visible.

This elephant was therefore not shot for the Traditional Authority festival of Mashi Community, and not the Mafwe as the Newspaper reports, which took place on the 10th August 2008, but as defense of human life and in this case Ministry officials. There was also no hippo shot in the Bwabwata National Park for the purpose as reported in the Newspaper.

This is not the first time that officials of the Ministry are attacked by elephants or other wild animals. Recently the Warden for Khaudum National Park survived a similar incident when a vehicle he was traveling in was attacked by elephants on his way from the Park to Tsumkwe. He had to leave the vehicle and proceed on foot.

In May 2007, two officials of the Ministry, the late Tekla Haseb and Kapinga Kasanga, were unfortunately attacked and killed by an elephant in the Mahango Game Park, which is now part of the Bwabwata National Park.

During the beginning of 2006, a thatched hut in the tourist camp at Khaudum National Park was attacked by an elephant when three officials of the Ministry including the Deputy Director of Parks and Wildlife Management and two staff members of the Namibia Nature Foundation where inside. Fortunately no one was hurt or injured.

I therefore dismiss these two articles as published in the Namibian Newspaper, where it is reported that last desert elephants are in firing line and that an elephant was shot dead for braai in front of tourists.

The information contained in the said articles about desert elephants and elephant for braai is incorrect and misleading, and we call upon the general public and the international community to ignore these articles.

On behalf of the Government of the Republic of Namibia, the Ministry of Environment and Tourism further regrets any inconvenience caused by the incorrect statements and is hereby appealing to members of the media, to in future contact the Ministry and obtain accurate information and verification thereof.

I THANK YOU ALL.â€