Associations encouraged to market hunting sector

A significant portion of Zimbabwe’s surface area is protected as national parks and wildlife still occurs in open areas.
In an interview, the president of the Commercial Farmers Union,Mr Charles Taffs said Zimbabwe must seek ways to utilise its wildlife so as to make a significant contribution to the economy.
“Hunting, especially tourist hunting, is most economically rewarding as it has high returns from low volumes due to its exclusively priced market.
“This sector must be taken seriously as it can boost local communities by way of employment creation,” he said.
The chairman of the Professional Hunters Association of Africa Mr Emmanuel Fundira said there was a need to professionalise the sector as it involved large amounts of money.
“Many hunters are not willing to participate in seminars that are meant to educate and inform them on the industry, especially black hunters.
“Hunting promotes the country as a tourist attraction, thereby stimulating other tourist activities like photography, canoeing and many others,” he said.
He called on hunting associations to market their industry through the media to attract foreigners.
“Foreign customers want to be informed before they come on tour, so advertising through brochures and other forms of the media will boost their confidence,” he said.
Mr Taffs said hunting demanded higher levels of professional management and the greatest challenge Africa was faced with was marketing.
“The greatest challenge is to market the safari effectively because the type of safari determines the number of hunters who come in and also the money one can possibly make,” he said.
He said poaching was destroying the tourism sector since wildlife was a major tourist attraction.
“Government must put on strong measures against poachers so as to safeguard the natural resources in the country,” he said.