Leopard hunting in Namibia is front and center this month in the news from the Dark Continent. I alerted E-mail Extra subscribers about the latest development just after going to print with the August issue of The Hunting Report. The Namibian Professional Hunters Association (NAPHA) had submitted what some consider drastic recommendations on leopard hunting to the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET). The recommendations called for the immediate suspension of all leopard hunting with hounds for the remainder of 2009 as well as a moratorium on all leopard and cheetah trophy hunting permits for 2010. Those recommendations were the result of a Special General Meeting of NAPHA members held on July 31st and during which members discussed the challenges currently facing leopard and cheetah hunting in Namibia.
The catalyst for this meeting and the recommendations resulting from it was the moratorium on leopard hunting permits announced by MET on June 15. You’ll remember I told you about this development in the July issue of The Hunting Report. The moratorium was implemented because MET had already issued its entire quota of 250 CITES export permits for 2009. This was the first time Namibia had issued its entire quota for leopard, and there were still another six months or so of the hunting season left. The news created quite a stir, especially among safari operators with clients booked for a leopard hunt later in the season. What additionally astonished many was that MET had issued more than 200 leopard hunting permits over the export quota. Conceivably, another 200 leopards could be taken by the end of the season in November.
A grapevine sprang up almost immediately, passing on news and speculations in e-mails, on forums and over the phone lines. I received several of these communications myself. Their focus was basically on the problems of leopard hunting with hounds and how this style of hunting is responsible for the filled quota and a host of illegal and unethical activities that are putting leopard hunting in Namibia at risk. I’ve heard stories asserting everything from accusing hound hunters of consistently following their packs onto properties where they have no permission to hunt, to stories about ranchers who trap leopards and burn their pads so they cannot escape the dogs when released. Participants on one forum I visited accused MET of incompetence and corruption for issuing so many permits and for allowing these shenanigans to occur under its nose. I went straight to NAPHA and MET to find out exactly what is going on. Here’s what you should know about the state of leopard hunting in Namibia.....
