http://allafrica.com/stories/201505201600.html


19 MAY 2015
Zambia: 'Reverse Lifting of Lions' Hunting Ban'

By Moffat Chazingwa and Charity Moonga



GREEN Party president Peter Sinkamba has expressed concern over the decision by Government to lift the ban on big cat hunting in the country.

Tourism and Arts Minister Jean Kapata last week announced the lifting of the ban on cat hunting in the country on account that it greatly affected the wildlife resource livelihoods of local authorities in game management Areas.

But Mr Sinkamba said in a statement in Kitwe yesterday that the decision by Government to lift the ban on hunting lions and leopards was wrong.

He said the ban was initiated when conservationists warned that a wildlife population, especially in the cat family, was facing a greater threat than at any time since the 1980s.

He said the total population of lions in the country as at 2013 was estimated to be between 2,500 and 4,700.

These, he said, were unreliable estimates since successive governments after UNIP, have not sustained a continuous wildlife census system.



He urged Government to reverse lifting of the ban and instead come up with other revenue generating schemes.

But the Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) commended Government for lifting the ban which was enforced two years ago.

ZAWA public relations officer Sakabilo Kalembwe said the lifting of the ban on hunting of big cats will ensure a great improvement in Government revenue.

Kalembwe said ZAWA will make sure that hunting of cats was carried out according to statutory regulations.

Government lifted the ban on cat hunting on condition that the guidelines were grafted into a statutory instrument so that they become part of the wildlife law.

Ms Kapata explained that lion hunting should only resume in the 2016/2017 hunting season and not this year.

She, however, said leopard hunting could resume this year 2015/2016 but with very precautionary quotas.

The two-year hunting ban was among others, necessitated by the weak regulatory mechanisms, declining lion populations in some areas due to over-harvesting, hunting of underage lions and depletion of habitats for lion.

Other reasons were the increased lion deaths in human-lion conflicts and lack of solid statistics upon which to base quotas.

The leopard ban was effected due to lack of serious monitoring lapses by ZAWA, which had since been rectified.

Perhaps they could impose an income tax on the lions.

quote:

Originally posted by Brice:
Perhaps they could impose an income tax on the lions.

Or a trophy fee for lion poachers?

Brett

http://www.lusakatimes.com/201...wildlife-tourism-ps/



Zambia needs to step up animal conservation efforts before it loses its entire wildlife-Tourism PS

May 21, 2015 5:46 am



Tourism and Arts Permanent Secretary Stephen Mwansa says there is need to change the mindsets of Zambia from thinking that every animal should end up in a pot.

Mr Mwansa said Zambia needs to step up animal conservation efforts before it loses its entire wildlife resources.

He warned that posterity will judge the current generation harshly if it fails to converse its wildlife.
Mr Mwansa expressed worry that Zambia is losing its wildlife resources at an alarming rate.

His comments are in total contrast to Tourism Minister Jean Kapata’s recent decision to allow the hunting of Lions and Leopards in Zambia.

‘We need a total change management of our people to make them understand that it is not every animal they see which should end up in a pot. Let our people know that once they kill that Elephant and they eat and go and give business to the Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company, that’s it,’ Mr Mwansa remarked.

Mr Mwansa was speaking Tuesday evening in Lusaka at the residence of German Ambassador to Zambia Bernd Finke when he officiated at the handover of funds to 10 animal conversation organisations.

But Mrs Kapata clarified that Zambia has lifted the ban on the hunting of leopards and will allow lion hunting next year after it established that the population of the big cats was higher than previously thought.

In 2013, then Tourism Minister Sylvia Masebo banned the hunting of lions and other endangered wild cats such as leopards, saying the big cat numbers in Zambia were too low to have a sustainable hunting industry.

Mrs Kapata however stated that trophy hunting would not be done indiscriminately as the government was mindful of the fact that many tourists visited Zambia to see the big cats.

“We have lifted the hunting ban for leopards starting this 2015/2016 season, which begins in July and we are going to allow lion hunting starting next year,” Kapata told Reuters.

“We did an aerial survey and established that we have more than 4,000 lions and leopards are in excess of 8,000.”

The hunters would only be allowed to target old male big cats and those cast away by their families, she said.

“We have always hunted lions and leopards but what we are doing now is to hunt in a more controlled manner. We have reduced the number of big cats to be hunted per block,” Kapata said, referring to 23 hunting zones set aside for hunting.

Lions and leopards are the feline pair of the so-called “Big Five” group of African wild animals coveted by trophy hunters. The others are elephant, rhino and buffalo.

There are concerns about Africa’s big animals in the face of a surge in poaching where well-armed criminal gangs have killed elephants for their ivory tusks and rhinos for horns that are often shipped to Asia for use in ornaments and medicines.