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Hunting companies in Zimbabwe and Tanzania have been left to count their losses as a court case brought in the United States against recent new regulations, banning the import of game trophies from the two countries by the Obama administration, failed to overturn the ban.
US District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson gave a lengthy ruling in which she sided with the administration, namely US Fish and Wildlife, which put a moratorium in place effectively denying hunters from the US the chance to come back with their trophies, thought to lead to a serious downturn of hunting activities in the two countries.
The ban was imposed in early April over alleged reports of poaching on a commercial scale in both countries and the respective government’s apparent inability or unwillingness to stop poaching by any means possible.
It is estimated that before the ban, the country was anticipating to earn to earn about $60 million from trophy hunting this year.
Last week Matabeleland North Minister of State Cde Cain Mathema described the development as a deliberate ploy to frustrate the tourism sector after meeting concerned safari operators and interested groups..
“I met safari operators, the people in the Hwange conservancy area and their stakeholders. During the meeting it emerged that the US has stopped its citizens from doing hunting safaris here,” the Minister told Chronicle last week.
Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority Director-General Edison Chidziya recently travelled to Washington to lobby against the ban.
Some of the revenues that accrue to that country when foreign countries come through include permit fees and hiring of professional hunters amounting to $30,000.
Jerry Gotora, chairman of the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority told Bloomberg that US ban won’t help conservation efforts.
“This ban just encourages poachers,” he said by phone. “It just doesn’t make any sense.” — Business Reporter/eturbonews.com
Londile Moyo
Online Reporter