ZAWA to Cull 200 Hippos From Luangwa River

The Times of Zambia (Ndola)
NEWS
June 1, 2005
Posted to the web June 1, 2005


THE Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) has contracted a private firm to cull about 200 hippos in the Luangwa as a way of getting rid of old animals from the river.

ZAWA public relations manager Maureen Mwape said in an interview in Lusaka yesterday that the culling exercise was different from cropping as it focused only on killing the mature animals as opposed to the cropping exercise which involved indiscriminate killing of species.

"We are not cropping the hippos in the Luangwa river, we are only culling the hippos as part of our plan to pave way for the new breed and only old animals will be killed," Ms Mwape said.

She said that the culling exercise had nothing to do with the partial drought the country experienced this year which had caused low water levels in some rivers, saying the exercise was according to ZAWA's earlier plan of protecting and maintaining animals in the parks.

She said due to the on-going culling exercise, it was likely that the market would be flooded with game meat and warned members of the public that ZAWA would not hesitate to prosecute anyone found selling game meat without supporting documents.

She said ZAWA was aware of some unscrupulous dealers who were illegally selling game meat in briefcases at Soweto market in Lusaka, adding that the organisation would soon move in to ensure culprits were prosecuted.

In Siavonga, the five lions and a hyena that were terrorising villagers and seven others in Chama have been chased into the bush by ZAWA officers.

"I can confirm that our officers fired shots to scare the pride of lions that was causing havoc to villages in both Chama and Siavonga," Ms Mwape said.

That is too bad, because there are some real trophy Hippo in that river. What they should do is reduce the trophy fee, and allow the safari companies to do the cull. If the fees were cheap enough, the safari outfitters could book the hunts quickly, and at plains game daily rates, while producing some real trophies for their clients. They could let a client take three or four Hippo on a single license. All the while bringing in Money, for ZAWA, and the meat could still be sold, instead of paying it out for the same result! They did that back in 1992, and the bookings were cheap, and sold out quickly, I bought one myself. Hunters kill when they shoot, and most game scouts wound when they shoot. The tails counted are only part of what they actually kill, and it cost them money, while the other way the caufers are fattened, while creating a vinue for future hunts by return clients!

Makes too much cents!

They will never let you hunt in Zambia for plains game rates regardless of what your chasing.

The cheapest I have seen is $750 a day for 7 days. Plus 1800 for those BS concession fees.

quote:

Originally posted by D99:
They will never let you hunt in Zambia for plains game rates regardless of what your chasing.

The cheapest I have seen is $750 a day for 7 days. Plus 1800 for those BS concession fees.

I hunted Buffalo in the Luangwa Valley for $500 per day, and the trophy fees were so reduced that the total cost was only $6010 US, to take Buffalo, Hippo,Zebra,Cookson's Wildebeast, wart hog,Impala, on a 7 day hunt! That was because there had been a drought, and the people were starving. The game people were wiping out all the game with their little AK47s and only collecting about a fourth of what they killed. The Safari operators, went to the government, and asked they would reduce the costs so they could book hunts cheaply enough to make folks come on short notice. They allowed it,and the meat, ALL THE MEAT, not used in the hunting camps, went to the people. This was topped off by the return clients the next year, makeing a bumper crop of hunts, bringing in loads of foreign exchange to the country.

The problem is, the officials change in Africa, like we change our underwear, and the guys there now don't remember what happened yesterday, much less 5 or 6 years ago! Governments are not used to saveing, or makeing money for anything, they only know "SPEND"! This is the case here!

quote:

Originally posted by MacD37:
That is too bad, because there are some real trophy Hippo in that river. What they should do is reduce the trophy fee, and allow the safari companies to do the cull. If the fees were cheap enough, the safari outfitters could book the hunts quickly, and at plains game daily rates, while producing some real trophies for their clients. They could let a client take three or four Hippo on a single license. All the while bringing in Money, for ZAWA, and the meat could still be sold, instead of paying it out for the same result! They did that back in 1992, and the bookings were cheap, and sold out quickly, I bought one myself. Hunters kill when they shoot, and most game scouts wound when they shoot. The tails counted are only part of what they actually kill, and it cost them money, while the other way the caufers are fattened, while creating a vinue for future hunts by return clients!

That makes way too much sense for Africa.

MacD37, I'll be hunting in the Luangwa in Sept with Peter Chipman. I sure wish they would lower the price to $500 for a hippo. The price now is $1,500. I'd shoot one at $500.