Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority Surveys Hunting Preferences

In Ethiopia the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority (EWCA) in conjunction with the Frankfurt Zoological Society is working with a European Union funded project called Hunting for Sustainability (http://fp7hunt.net/Home.aspx). They are conducting an international survey among hunters who have hunted Ethiopia or are interested in hunting there. The survey is called, "Hunting in Ethiopia: Your Preferences," and according to Degu Tadie of the Frankfurt Zoological Society, its purpose is to provide detailed information about tourist/sport hunters' preferences for possible hunting trips to Ethiopia. The study "aims to identify the factors that attract foreign hunters to Ethiopia and those factors they might view as negative." The ultimate goal is to improve conditions for hunting tourism in Ethiopia. The survey offers hunters various scenarios to choose from, including the trophy bag; the hunting area experience; the breakdown in revenue between the operator, local communities and government; the length of the trip and the license fees. It also asks about different wildlife you might observe and the presence of livestock. Lastly, the survey asks for your personal views and experiences, including, "What comes to mind when you think of hunting in Ethiopia?" In recent years, international hunters have been affected by a number of actions in Africa, including significant increases in trophy fees announced by both Tanzania and Ethiopia on the eve of season openers. (See Articles 1922 and 2333 in our database.) Hunting associations in both of those countries had their hands full trying to get authorities to understand how safari clients would respond to those increases. Here at The Hunting Report we received scores of negative comments from readers on these developments. Occasionally, subscribers I speak with will still feel compelled to express their opinions on those fee hikes. While we passed all of those comments on to contacts in those countries, this survey could do a better job of officially quantifying the concerns and preferences you articulated to us in various notes and emails. For that reason, I am encouraging all Hunting Report subscribers to take this survey. To request a copy, contact Tadie at degutadie@fzs.org or Yitbarek Tibebe at yitbarektibebe@fzs.org.

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