The other interesting development is that safari operators will be required to post a $10,000 trophy fee deposit to the Wildlife Department before the season starts. One can't help but wonder if this is supposed to address situations like that created by Usangu Safaris, which collected trophy fees from dozens of hunters but never paid the government for them. (Despite promises from both Zahir and Abdul Mulla, former proprietors of Usangu, that they would get the trophies released, I still have a list of Hunting Report subscribers waiting for trophies they hunted with Usangu several years ago. Of course, $10,000 isn't nearly enough to cover Usangu's over $100,000 in outstanding trophy fees.)
And lastly, the hunting season in Tanzania has been extended through March 31, starting in 2011. At one time the hunting season ran through March, but the government shortened it when some operators overshot their quotas and companies without northern blocks complained that they were not benefiting from the long season. When the possibility of extending the season again came up last year, TAHOA (Tanzania Hunting Operators Association) asked that the quotas not be increased as well. The government agreed.
One advantage to an extended season is that it covers........(continued)
