An e-mail sent to me this past December 14th by Angelides' staff had a letter attached to it from Anselme Enerunga in the Congo Ministry of the Environment and Conservation of Nature. The letter, on government letterhead, is addressed to George Angelides, Managing Director of Congo Safari Expeditions. It reads, in part:
"I herewith inform Congo Safaris Expeditions that I will officially open tourist hunting in Democratic Republic of Congo from the next year ... (and) I herewith give the authorization to start your marketing campaign inviting tourists to hunt in Democratic Republic of Congo...."
The letter goes on to list a number of hunting areas that have been allocated to Congo Safaris. The names will not mean much to most hunters, but it is probably worthwhile to list the areas anyway for the sake of hunters seriously interested in hunting Congo next year. The areas are: Oshwe and Swa Kibula in Bandundu Province; Bushimaie in Kasaï Oriental Province; Lunda Tshokwe and Mwenye Kay/Mwene Muskoe in Katanga Province: and Rubi Tele in Orientate Province.
In a phone call late last month, Congo Safaris' Dougie Stephenson said the only drawback so far was a prohibition against the import of firearms by individual hunters. To mitigate that problem, he said Congo Safaris was going to import some quality guns ahead of time. The e-mail I received last month also mentioned that a "few more details" regarding government fees still had to be worked out.
The e-mail went on to say, "The hunters coming with us next season will truly........(continued)
