As this issue went to press there was some jitteriness over conditions in Zimbabwe in the run-up to the presidential and parliamentary elections. By the time you read this, the elections should be over, so there is little reason to dwell on the issue. My biggest concern at press time was the possibility that there would be no clear winner of the presidential election (that is, no one would have won by the required 51 percent margin), meaning a follow-up election is necessary. If that has happened, election uneasiness could still be occurring as you read this.
E-mail Extra subscribers will know the latest because I will have issued news bulletins to them. Non-E-Mail Extra subscribers can catch up on the news by going to our web site (www.huntingreport.com) and scrolling down to E-Mail Extra Bulletins. I post all of our news bulletins there on a delayed basis.
My bet – and this is sticking my neck out – is, Zimbabwe is muddling forward as you read this with an inflation rate nearing an annual 100,000 percent and refugees continuing to pour into neighboring South Africa. Obviously, this situation is not sustainable over the long haul. A new political order will have to emerge or things will eventually break down. Until one of those happens, hunting is providing the life support system for Zimbabwe’s wildlife, inspiring the government to keep poachers out of the important public hunting lands. Hunters who are braving the ambiguities surrounding hunting in Zimbabwe are making an important investment in the future of this country’s wildlife. .....
