Centre for Natural Resource Governance’s call for the ban of trophy hunting in Zimbabwe has a global traction.
Trophy hunting in broader terms is known as the hunting of wild animals for sport or fun and not for food.
Usually, the animal killed during trophy hunting is stuffed or a body part is kept for display back home where the hunter will have come from.
Most trophy hunters come to Zimbabwe from rich countries such as the United States, Britain, Sweden, Australia and France and pay high fees for their hunts
Many hunters claim that trophy hunting is not bad for animals but in Zimbabwe, the debate to abandon it grew stronger in 2015.
It was in in the wake of the sickening shooting of Cecil the lion which triggered public outrage.
At that time Botswana made it clear that killing animals for “sport” was not welcome within its borders.
It is our stern belief that safari hunting of threatened species such as lions has the potential to undermine our regional anti-poaching efforts as it encourages illegal trade which in turn promotes poaching.
Last year we also moved to close any loopholes in the export of our lions etc for canned hunting in your country (South Africa) or elsewhere,” the Botswana government statement read at that time.
Botswana’s stance is in sync with the position of CNRG.
The organisation insists that it is in the first place un-African and inhumane to kill for sport or fun.
Airlines such as Delta Air Lines and American Airlines long back announced banning the transport of all lion, leopard, elephant, rhinoceros and buffalo “trophies” (ie, body parts) worldwide as freight.
It made it much more difficult for hunters to fly home the decapitated heads of the animals they would have murdered.
In 1977, Kenya during the reign of Jomo Kenyatta, banned trophy hunting. The government cited overshooting of the animals as its reason but sources said the African state had identified another loophole in the scheme of corruption in which money paid by hunters was abused.
In Zimbabwe there has not been any announcement of a forensic audit of funds realised from trophy hunting.
Previous audits have centered on expenditures of the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife as whole and not trophy hunting in specific.