Unethical hunting must endWhile the trophy hunting industry is integral to Namibia’s economy and conservation practices, unethical outfitters and hunters can destroy the entire industry. No future for industry if it is not ethical Namibia’s hunting industry has made it clear that the only way that the industry will survive is if ethical practises are applied and future hunters are trained with a focus on conservation.Speaking at the opening of the annual general meeting of the Namibian Professional Hunting Association (Napha), its president Kai-Uwe Denker said that since the early 1970s there has been a coordinated international movement against hunting and more particular, against trophy hunting.
He said that this has led to a continuous decline in the overall acceptance of hunting by the general public as well as by influential institutions worldwide.
According to Denker the well-founded and well-meant principle of sustainable use of natural resources to a considerable extent has become a matter of sustainable abuse of natural resources.
“Typical for human nature for many reasons including greed, many hunting operators have thrown to the wind not only generally accepted standards of ethical hunting but also the very important ecological and nature conservation linkage of the sustainable use principle,” he said.
According to Denker financial aspects totally override any moral considerations, tarnishing the image of trophy hunting and placing a big question mark over the true motives of trophy hunters which results in losing the hearts of the general public.
“Tourists hunting in Africa was largely perceived as being a perverted pastime of rich spoiled white people from the first world,” he said.
Denker however said that 2016 was a year when hunters and pro-hunting organisations were able to bring across their message that if hunting is practiced in a sustainable and respective manner, it is an essential tool of practical nature conservation.
He said that pro-hunting proponents have probably never before been able to bring this message across with such a concerted effort as this year.
However according to Denker amongst the core issues that hamper the acceptance of hunting is the difficulty for the general public to understand that the only true acceptable justification for hunting is its claim of being an indispensible tool of practical nature conservation.
He said respectful and ethical conduct within a strict animal welfare code has to be acknowledged.
Denker said it is no longer acceptable to try and justify unacceptable hunting practices by claiming that ethics and morals are a matter of personal opinion.
“The worldwide community has clearly told us with this you have crossed the line. It is not good enough for a professional hunter to be able to drive a land cruiser off road and to shoot a big boar with a rifle.”
He stressed that the professional hunting sector in the future has to be educated and qualified on true conservation issues if the tide is to turn in favour of hunting.
Denker also said if a critical inspection of the hunting sector time and again exposes manipulation and exploitation of nature let alone horrible abuses then the continuous and accelerated decline of hunting’s reputation will not be stopped and hunters can just as well hang up their rifles.
Meanwhile the deputy minister of environment, Tommy Nambahu, said that trophy hunting in Namibia has undergone major challenges this year that threatened its sustainability as a contributor to conservation in the country.
According to him these challenges included the prolonged drought that threatened wildlife and also the attack on, or advocacy against, trophy hunting following the shooting of Cecil the lion.
He said that this incident led to calls for the banning of trophy hunting and airlines boycotting transporting of trophies hunted in Africa.
Nambahu said that trophy hunting is a concept that is not well understood and at most times misinterpreted as to how it contributes to conservation and benefits people living with wildlife.
“Therefore it is important for us as regulators, hunters, outfitters and communities to remain ethical in our dealings to avoid unbecoming criticisms that may diminish our reputation.”
ELLANIE SMIT