John J. Jackson, III, summarizes all of this so well in his Conservation Force Bulletin (a copy should be enclosed with this issue) that little more needs to be added. It is worth noting, though, we need to proceed carefully as hunters with the newly approved black rhino hunts. These permits were granted with the express purpose of furthering rhino conservation, and the whole world will be watching and judging what we do.
It goes without saying that the strictest standards of fair chase need to be upheld. Also, as a community, we need to work together to be sure we can demonstrate that the money paid for black rhinos indeed contributes to conservation, whether the rhinos are privately owned (as many are in South Africa) or owned by the government (as they are in Namibia). Another thing needs to be noted is the fact that US hunters cannot automatically import black rhino trophies into the US just because these permits have been authorized. If you are a US citizen, do not buy one of these hunts until the importability issue has been settled. We'll keep you posted, as will Conservation Force's John J. Jackson, III. His web site address is: www.conservation force.org.
Another big jumbo has hit the ground this season. This one was taken in Namibia by a German hunter booked on a safari to the Nyae Nyae Conservancy (the former Bushmanland) with Kai-Uwe Denker. The jumbo weighed an amazing and very lopsided 115.3 x 17 pounds! Remarkably, five days after taking the one jumbo, the same hunter took another that measured 81.7 by 77.9 pounds.
Denker tells us the right tusk of the big bull was just over six........(continued)
