Zambia bans hunting

**SFourie** · 03-04-2013, 06:18

Zambia Bans Hunting
01 Apr 2013

Zambian wildlife authorities have suspended the tender process for hunting concessions and cancelled all hunting licences for the foreseeable future.

According to sources and local news reports, minister of tourism Sylvia Masebo has based her decision on corruption and malpractices between the hunting companies and various government departments. She also fired the director-general of the Zambian Wildlife Authority (ZAWA), Edwin Matokwani, as well as a number of other officials, and has instigated an in-depth criminal investigation of ZAWA and other wildlife bodies.

These actions come just 14 months after the previous board of ZAWA was dissolved by the newly elected president, Michael Sata, and indicate that Zambia has still not rid itself of the cartels that are rumoured to have dominated hunting in that country for decades.

These events are happening against the backdrop op confirmation that foreign-registered light aircraft are involved in smuggling wildlife out of the country. Using small landing strips, these flights also violate Zambian airspace as they are being undertaken without authorised flight plans.
There is a suspicion that South African breeders are involved in smuggling sables with longer horns from Zambia to SA so that trophy hunters will pay higher prices for their kills.

The Times of Zambia reported that Masebo has banned hunting in 19 Game Management Areas for one year, but not in some other Game Management Areas, nor on privately-owned game ranches. Leopard, lion and elephant hunting is closed everywhere.

Two weeks ago, the President of Botswana, Lt. Gen. Ian Khama, announced that by the end of 2013, trophy hunting would no longer be allowed in Botswana.

Speaking at a local kgotla in Mababe, a village along the edge of the Okavango Delta, he said that “Next year will be the last time anyone is allowed to hunt in Botswana and we have realised that if we do not take care of our animals, we will have a huge problem in terms of tourism.”