What has happened to citizen hunting in zim? Can a local hunt DG without having to go through a operator. Does NP offer anything or do you have to be 'connected'. I know there is the auction but from what i understand most DG is bought by the operators.

As far as I'm aware, Zimbabweans can still buy hunts on action. But Safari areas such as Sapi and Nyakasanga are now quite expensive.
Hartley Safari area west of Kadoma might be affordable.

This year will be interesting to watch the auctions.

In the past Citizen hunters had
Rifa, Doma and Tuli as big game areas run by the Zimbabwe Hunters Association. (they also bought up quota on private land and offered that to members) In Addition Makuti, Charara and Umfurudzi were open to Zim Citizens only and sold by sealed tender. Lastly, you could always bid on the zambezi Valley auction hunts and dandawa impala camps.

Willas Makombe (Parks Acting Director) anounced in 1996 that he intended to stop Citizens having access to national parks areas, and slowly over the next 4 years put this into place with all citizen hunting areas being leased out to safari operators.

Since 2000 the only option for citizens has been to bid on the Zambezi Valley acutions. Last year only 10 hunts were reserved for citizens- the rest only open to visiting hunters. With the economy dollerised, I suspect all the zambezi valley camps will be open to all- and for the first time since the Zim dollar collapsed (nov 97) it will be a level playing field for both citizens, South African Operators (who are there illegally....) and those international hunters who want a genuine 'Chase Libre' hunt in the Zambezi Valley.

a) Don't hold your breath
b) Prices will not be high, but far above what most Zimbabweans can afford
c) Many safari operators may well have left over quota which they will sell onto citizens. As a citizen you are not required to hunt with a PH so the operators needs only to charge you the fee for the animal not the daily rate (assuming you run your own fly camp).

Many thanks Don. So unless you have the $$$$ no chance of big game hunting for citizens......

Correct. Even in the campfire areas the communities want to see the money, even for genuine PAC! Even for plains game, it has been my experience that in the last 5 years it has been cheaper to buy a hunt in Namibia than to hunt at home

That's a shame that a citizen can't hunt in his own country.

Couldn't you just work out a private agreement with a farmer to hunt his land?

There are no farmers left.

i used to hunt on mates farms growing up like many here, but as they have been stolen no can hunt anymore. I agree it is a big shame.......Maybe one day it will happen.

I was in parks for several years before I was able to stop my dad shooting every lion and elephant as a 'problem animal'! Also we used to have buffalo, until the erradication proogramme in the mid 1980's...

As a kid I was often offered the oportunity to shoot lion, leopard impala and warthog for free...there was always folk from town who were willing to pay to shoot an elephant