Parks seeks increase in hunting quota

Victoria Falls Reporter
April 20, 2009


ZIMBABWE wants the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to increase the number of elephants killed for trophy hunting to 600 annually, the National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority Director-General, Dr Morris Mtsambiwa, has said.
Zimbabwe is currently allowed to trade 1 000 tusks from 500 trophy elephants by CITES because the elephant is considered an endangered species.
In an interview, Dr Mtsambiwa said there was a need to increase the quota to deal with the rising elephant population in the country.
“Currently the whole country is allowed by CITES to harvest only 500 elephants for trophy hunting from a population of way over 100 000.
“Because of the increase in the elephant population, the authority has seen it viable to increase the trophy,” he said.
Because of the massive increase in population, some of the elephants are now affecting the livelihood of villagers across the country especially in Matabeleland North Province where they are reportedly destroying yields and trampling on villagers.
“As one way of dealing with the problem elephants while at the same time increasing trophy for hunting we are pushing for an increase in the number of trophy from 500 to 600 annually,” he said.
Dr Mtsambiwa bemoaned the unending war with poachers in the national parks whom he said were also targeting quality trophy which he said should be benefiting the country.
“Remember we are facing competition from poachers who are also targeting the quality trophy. From every 100 elephants we expect one quality trophy bull, which the poachers will also be chasing,” he said.
Elephants have been wrecking havoc in Matabeleland region where villagers especially in Insiza and Hwange districts fear that their harvest will be lost if the animals are not dealt with.