Wild life trophy hunting is legal in many African countries.Big-cat trophy hunting is regarded by many as primitive in this day and age.
So why would a country like Zambia lift the ban on the shooting and killing of its precious lion and leopard populations?
The answer is very clear – it is the need for foreign currency in order to fund sustainable wildlife programmes, which can be costly, and also to benefit local communities.
Trophy hunting is a multi-million dollar industry – a licence to shoot a lion can cost up to $25,000 (£15,000) in neighbouring countries.
Zambia’s economy was built on the back of copper mining but now commodities are on a cyclical downward spiral. Consequently the country’s currency, the kwacha, has lost a substantial amount of its value.
For this small country, tourism is another way of bringing in foreign currency.There is no doubt that the beautiful banks of the Zambezi river in Livingstone and the Victoria Falls are still a draw card for international tourists but take a closer look at the numbers and it soon becomes clear that trophy hunters bring the lion’s share of the greenback.
Zambia’s country director of the World Wildlife Fund Nyambe Nyambe told me that when the ban was initially announced back in 2013 “there were not enough monitoring systems in place”.
The government lifted the ban following expert recommendations which suggested that hunting resumption would “assist communities in affected areas with access to financial benefits”, he said.
Mr Nyambe also explained that “concerns about the big cats conservation led to the ban in the first place and there is due recognition of the same as the ban is being lifted”.
The authorities saw the need for a robust and implementable plan for leopards as well, as they have different needs to lions.
Zambia is hoping to cash in on leopard hunting
Hunting regulations were structured only for lions because hunters were mostly interested in the king of the jungle.Mr Nyambe added: “We hope and trust that the hunting of big cats will be an integral part of sustainable harvesting of wildlife resources.”But critics say there is no justification for shooting majestic animals such as the elusive African leopard just so that wealthy hunters, largely from the West, can pose for photos with dead animals.
And there is one country on the continent that wants no part in the hunting of wildlife – Zambia’s neighbour, Botswana.It has an established tradition of “shoot with the camera not the gun”.
Last week an American hunter paid $350,000 for a licence to shoot a black rhinoceros in Namibia.Corey Knowlton, from Texas, killed the rhino with a high-powered rifle after a three-day hunt through the bush with government officials on hand to ensure he killed the correct animal, which had reportedly been chosen as it was old and had become aggressive.
Mr Knowlton, 36, won the right to shoot the rhino at an auction – attracting criticism, and even death threats, from conservationists.
His supporters argued that the money raised would be used to protect other rhinos – there are just 5,000 left in the world, 2,000 of which are in Namibia.Zambia cannot be singled out for criticism because trophy hunting, albeit not always for endangered species or exotic animals, is allowed in many parts of the world including Europe and the US.But to be fair to the international hunter, local communities also hunt animals for their own purposes – whether to eat or to protect their livestock from predators.Animal rights groups hope that someday, in the not-too-distant future, there will come a time when the killing of wild animals will simply be outlawed.
By Milton Nkosi
Source:BBC Africa
Because government is broke and they want to earn foreign exchange. That is PF for you. Chimbwi No Plan
Guys, leave the lions alone. Instead, shoot hyenas.
shoot hyenas please. there are so many they even run in elections
Next to shoot is Hyenas and Hippos for only $500 000.
Mo money! Kill the animals
Please hunt PF cadres instead. They are a danger, not endangered. They are a nuisance that need cropping in serious numbers.
People of Zambia, this President is dull. Otherwise he would not allow this get-rich-quick scheme for his ministers. What happened to sustainable hard work? Sata banned this sport, now Lungu (with no vision, apparently) reverses it.
Please let us hunt this govt out of office.
This article is poorly researched, why kill an animal at BGP15,000 when a 1000 photos without killing that animal can earn you the same amount!
Lets just grow WEED instead( green party), how many of these majestic animals are going to be killed in the name of bringing forex into the country?
This is the worst ka-ka I’ve heard in a longtime and simply government using excuses to cover its a-s-s! What is sustainability and how does killing endangered species fall in sustainable tourism? Tourism business must balance economics with environment, people and cultures. It must develop partnerships to share in the pursuit of long-term growth and prosperity. Let’s talk infrastructure and superstructure such as transportation (roads, railway, airports), utilities (electricity, water, communication); and other services (healthcare and security) all these play a role in attracting tourists. Zambia was dependent on mining and look at the end result, the same way being dependent on Trophy Hunting will result due to short term economic thinking leading to negative environmental impacts.
Jean Kapata needs to realize that tourism can have intentional and direct impacts upon wildlife through activities such as hunting tourism, poaching or trophy collection (lion caucus is example here), or indeed wildlife observation that interferes with the species being watched. There is increasing evidence in Australia, for example, that whales are migrating further from the coast to avoid the whale watching boats and there are many stories of injuries to turtles and dolphins from boat propellers. Other consequences are taming lions and cheetahs for lions walks, hand rearing and feeding all alter mating and hunting habits of predators in Zambia’s National Parks. The balance of ecosystems can be disrupted when some species are favoured at the expense of others. Change this decision now!
The parks are not rasing the money they should because most tourists pay on line directly to the tour operators and lodge owners who are mostly south African whites. The result of this only a miniscule amount is declared.
Who’s fault is it that tourists are paying online through tour operators who are white? It’s because Zambia has no initiative to do so and thinks the Victoria Falls will promote its self. In marketing we have the 4P’s, price, product, produce and promotion. Zimbabwe and Kenya advertises on well known sights as Trip Advisor and other websites on international websites and draw in tourists. Zambia hires white people in South Africa or England to run their websites or do their marketing. This is leakage as money is leaving Zambia paying non Zambians. When National Geography shoots movies or people do music videos at the Victoria Falls, do we charge royalty fees? All these things need to be put into consideration. Tourism can work in Zambia, only with the right educated people managing it.
“When a Government Fails” a book by Eddy Chapona Lungula now on shelves.
This is the most ridiculous attempt to justify the useless move that the Government has taken. Its good that the article touched on Botswana that is not interested in this barbaric act of trophy hunting. The Botswana economy is one of the best in Africa. Why cant Zambia just explore on other economic ventures other than mining and this trophy hunting?
I will tell you why; its because the Government has failed and they are seeking an easy way out. Useless leadership is what we have. PF, you are useless starting from your leader! To me, this is Government protected poaching.
Besides, this so called foreign exchange earnings will only benefit a few government officials.
What they dont know is that they are opening a way for real poachers to wipe off the remaining big cats.
Just kill rats and bed bugs. Animals are precious unless they harm humans. Id rather we kill more crocs and bakabolala!