Trophy Hunting Becoming Big Business



The Namibian (Windhoek)

June 15, 2005
Posted to the web June 15, 2005

Windhoek

AN estimated 5 363 international hunters visited Namibia last year, the Namibia Professional Hunting Association (Napha) announced yesterday.

Napha spokesman Joof Lamprecht said there were 505 registered hunting professionals in Namibia and the Namibian trophy-hunting industry was the second biggest in Africa after Tanzania.


"Namibia has the second biggest hunting industry in Africa, second only to Tanzania, and is regarded as one of the best hunting grounds available with an enormous variety of scenery, species and hunting conditions," Lamprecht said.

Although he could not say how much money was generated from international hunters, he described the proceeds as "significant".

"The revenue generated from the over 5 000 hunters hunting in Namibia annually, when compared to the 750 000 tourists in total, is a substantial one and there is a higher expenditure per person in the hunting market compared to the normal tourist."

Lamprecht said his organisation was in close contact with the Ministry of Environment and Tourism to resolve issues regarding hunting legislation and the auctioning of Government concessions.

While trophy hunting was proving to be big business in Namibia and the rest of Africa, conservationists have urged governments to ensure that threatened species are not hunted to extinction."Yes, hunting is a form of consumptive tourism," Lamprecht acknowledged.

"Animals are hunted as trophies, but it is in actual fact a form of tourism with a very low impact and a very high return."

He said game translocation played a significant role in the repopulation of any area and as such was a critical conservation tool.


Translocation of game is seen as playing a major role in genetic diversity, increasing minimum population sizes of introduced species, boosting existing populations and supporting the recovery of natural biodiversity.

"The historical distribution of game, their sub-species and individual adaptations, habitat requirements and roles in eco-systems must be taken into account at all times," said the NPHA official.

quote:

Originally posted by Kathi:

Trophy Hunting Becoming Big Business

Napha spokesman Joof Lamprecht said there were 505 registered hunting professionals in Namibia and the Namibian trophy-hunting industry was the second biggest in Africa after Tanzania.

"Namibia has the second biggest hunting industry in Africa, second only to Tanzania, and is regarded as one of the best hunting grounds available with an enormous variety of scenery, species and hunting conditions," Lamprecht said.

That is quite impressive ... BUT is MR. Lamprecht correct to say Namibia is #2

Peter

I remember as little as 7 years ago that Namibia was a relatively unkown destination for safari hunting (at least for Americans). I would like to see the numbers of hunters/days hunted in Namibia 7 years ago v. this year's numbers.

Peter,

I wonder what numbers he is using to get to the #2 position. Number of hunters, days hunted, money spent? Hard to believe Namibia is ahead of RSA.

Regards,

Terry

quote:

Originally posted by T.Carr:

Peter,

I wonder what numbers he is using to get to the #2 position. Number of hunters, days hunted, money spent? Hard to believe Namibia is ahead of RSA.

Regards,

Terry

Terry I dont believe he can invent any number to get them to #2 in Africa /// unless he uses a per capita based formula ....

Good on him anyhow (if he ia using it) as a marketing ploy, just that some of us in this world dont believe all we read and like to be a pain in the butt and ask questions

No doubt we will get some interesting replies on the subject

Peter

Some info from the web:

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The sport hunting industry in the SADC region is massive. During the late 1990s, direct annual trophy hunting revenues reached USD29.9 million in Tanzania, USD28.4 million in South Africa, USD23.9 million in Zimbabwe, USD12.6 million in Botswana and USD11.5 million in Namibia.
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Foreign Hunters Worth R1 Billion To South Africa In 2003

JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's environment and tourism minister said on Monday that foreign hunters had brought one billion rand ($166 million) into the country last year, underscoring the value of tourists to the economy.

"We recognise the economic importance of professional hunting, with some 70,000 jobs created and directly supported by our 10,000 game farms," Marthinus van Schalkwyk said in an address to the country's Professional Hunters Association.

"The 7,000 foreign clients who travelled to South Africa to hunt last year contributed about 1 billion rand to the economy through daily rates, animals hunted and taxidermy," he said.

The minister gave no comparative figures. There have been fears that the rand's huge gains against the dollar and other major currencies over the past three years have hit the tourist industry by making the country more expensive for foreigners.

Tourism is a sector which the government is keen to promote because it is labour-intensive. South Africa is burdened with a jobless rate of close to 30 percent.
Story Date: 23/11/2004

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Peter sure seems to be sensitive of competition. Who cares if Namibia or the RSA is first or second?

quote:

Peter sure seems to be sensitive of competition. Who cares if Namibia or the RSA is first or second?

Hi Cewe

Hope all is going well for you guys in Europe, how's the constitution going

Hell no, if we were worried about competition we would be at the bottom of the heap ... Competition is great, it keeps us all on our toes, anyone whom fears competition is dead in the water ...

Just when I see something in print and I believe may be incorrect I dont accept it like a meek lamb, I make my views known ...

If I am in fact wrong then I bow down and accept the error ...

Regards, Peter
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Another viewpoint or report for scrutiny !!

( Feb 2005 ) Namibia now among top hunting destinations

LINDSAY DENTLINGER

NAMIBIA is gaining in popularity as a prime trophy-hunting destination in Africa - now among the top three after South Africa and Tanzania - despite tensions between conservation groups and the hunting fraternity.

This was revealed at the annual general meeting of the Namibia Professional Hunters Association (Napha), which was held in Windhoek last week.

Addressing the more than 100 members who attended the gathering, Minister of Environment and Tourism Philemon Malima said Government recognised hunting as an important part of the tourism industry and believed it had a role to play in the conservation and management of wildlife, by only targeting male animals past their reproductive prime.

Government is expected to shortly begin a process of selling trophy hunting concessions on State land for the next four years.

The 18 concessions will be the largest number ever awarded for national parks and game parks across the country.

Malima said the recovery of certain species made it possible to increase the number of concessions, but did note with concern that this was not true of all species.

He said too many lions were still being shot indiscriminately, suppressing the lion population.

Buffalo and black-faced impala, he said, had also not been able to increase their numbers significantly.

Following years of a low black rhino population, Cites last year approved Namibia's request to allow five black rhino a year to be shot by trophy hunters.

Malima said the Government wanted conservancies and rural tourism projects to be among those who benefit most from trophy hunting, but he warned the largely white hunting fraternity against the formation of "superficial partnerships of convenience".

The Minister felt that more could be done to increase the number of previously disadvantaged people with professional hunting qualifications.

Trophy hunting has become one of the largest income generators for conservancies, with more than half of the existing 40 conservancies having been allocated a hunting quota through the MET.

Government has offered incentives in the form of discounts to promote black economic empowerment in the trophy-hunting industry.

While acknowledging Napha's good image, Malima warned that Government would enforce a zero-tolerance policy against those who ignored accepted hunting codes of practice and ethics.

"We do not like prosecuting anyone, but there are those with short-term interests and who take chances with the law," he said.

"Despite the overall good situation, there are still some problems.

We are concerned about compliance to regulations and people taking shortcuts.

We expect … professionals to know the legal framework in which they have to operate," he warned.

Napha President Frank Heger said he was pleased to report that Napha had been able to establish a good relationship within the tourism industry and the MET, and pledged to continue working towards boosting the country's tourism industry through hunting.

He described the trophy-hunting industry as having been successful in Namibia because its benefits had been taken to the lowest levels of the communities and had become a high revenue earner for rural communities.

Heger said Namibia's popularity as a hunting destination was also largely due to the large variety of species in a variety of landscapes.

When Government last year announced its plans to auction hunting concessions, originally scheduled for December, conservation groups expressed the fear that it would deplete game herds, traumatise game and hurt eco-tourism.

The auction was postponed because of the large number of interested applicants.

The MET said it wanted more time to scrutinise applications and hold meetings with interested parties before auctioning the licences.

I am with you Peter, there is no way Namibia is first. I don't personally know Joof, but I would be willing to bet that was some poetic liscense on the part of the news paper writer.