Here at The Hunting Report, we immediately issued a bulletin on this to E-Mail Extra subscribers, outlining our position on the warning and on the security situation in Zimbabwe. It read as follows:
"That US State Department Travel Warning issued January 27, 2003 has made it more difficult, legally, for The Hunting Report to continue to recommend that hunters go there this year. Officially, I must now advise all would-be clients to get a copy of the warning and read it before making a decision. "That said, I have made a personal decision to book a safari to Zimbabwe myself this summer, because: 1.) I am personally comfortable with the security situation there; and 2.) I believe it is important for hunters to step up to the plate and keep revenue flowing into this country's conservation programs. Zimbabwe's wildlife programs are among the most innovative and effective in the world. The country is a sustainable-use showcase we can all be proud of as hunters. Our hunting friends there need us badly. If we pull our support, Zimbabwe's wildlife and the conservation infrastructure our hunting friends have built will be destroyed - perhaps forever.
"My personal view is, the recent Travel Warning is at least in part a political document, designed to stop Americans from hunting in Zimbabwe. Its issuance on the eve of The Safari Club International Convention is suspicious to say the least. I plan to investigate fully both inside and outside the hunting community to find out who pushed for the issuance........(continued)
