Hunters must present their case in all forms of social media—the tools are there, but long-term strategic commitment and the action of individual hunters is lacking. Here is how it could be done.READ MORE
What constitutes the sportsmanlike pursuit of game? Is fair chase still fair? How do we explain hunting ethics, and ourselves, to the general public?READ MORE
A critical view of the inclusion of iconic wildlife species into South Africa’s Animal Improvement Act. With this action, SA’s Dept. of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries demonstrates gross incompetence in matters of conservation. Negative consequences for wildlife and habitat will be inevitable.READ MORE
Through social media, protectionist NGOs are flourishing. Anti-hunting groups broadly refuse—or refute—scientific research and often ignore socio-economic factors while collecting millions in donations and saddling range states and rural communities with high conservation costs. It doesn’t have to be this way.READ MORE
Social media posts of happy hunters with dead animals often dismay anti-hunters and non-hunters alike, with predictable negative consequences. Namibia’s Ministry of Tourism and Environment, which regulates that country’s safari trade, has said it wants to ban such posts outright. NAPHA, Namibia’s professional hunting body, has countered with a social-media code of conduct. All hunters everywhere should think long and hard before publicizing trophy photos.READ MORE
Volker Grellmann, the doyen of Namibian professional hunting, died of a heart attack on the early morning of September 16, 2019, at the age of 77.READ MORE
This editorial highlights the “trial by ordeal” that hunting is now being subjected to and asks some questions of those who engineer global anti-hunting campaigns. What will happen to biodiversity and rural communities if hunting is consigned to the dustbin of history? The hunting community also faces stark choices. Hunters not conforming to long-term sustainability objectives—those who do not put conservation first, and who fail to convey a convincing message—will self-destruct. Malan Lindeque and Rosalia Iileka suggest solutions.READ MORE
The American bison’s near-miraculous revival sprang from handfuls of animals in ranches, zoos and national parks. Yellowstone National Park today holds several thousand bison, but neighboring states do not allow them entry for fear of spreading disease to domestic cattle. In response, excess bison are slaughtered—a practice that is being called the “second persecution of the American bison.” Allowing bison to repopulate the West is a complex and challenging issue that involves many stakeholders. African nations such as Botswana and Namibia can show the US how to accomplish this.READ MORE
On February 26th, 2019 Mongabay.com (‘News & Inspiration from Nature’s Frontline’) published an unusually long article called “It pays, but does it stay? Hunting in Namibia’s community conservation system”, replete with photos, graphs, statistics and videos. In it, the author, John Grobler, heaped scathing criticism on Namibia’s Wildlife Conservation Model.READ MORE
The best chance to secure social acceptance for hunting lies primarily in the transparent implementation of and compliance with scientifically grounded sustainability rules, secondly in the full recognition of the role of local rural people in wildlife management, and thirdly in the behavior of hunters in the field and how they present themselves to the public. These three tenets, important as they are individually and in combination, should be adaptable and sensitive to varying local cultural, political and social contexts, and integrate local knowledge and cultural practices.READ MORE