Zambia lifts hunting ban, citing lost revenue

A BAN on hunting in Zambia
that was introduced in
January last year, has
been lifted with immediate
effect.
The Times of Zambia
reported that Tourism and Arts
Minister, Jean Kapata, said
the decision to lift the ban
had been taken to prevent an
increase in poaching, which
could result from an eroded
sense of ownership over the
animals following the ban.
“ZAWA has lost huge
amounts of money as result of
the ban,” Jean was quoted as
saying. “It must also be borne
in mind that the reduction of
operational income to ZAWA
arising from the prolonged
suspension of hunting has put
a strain on the government,
which has had to supplement
ZAWA’s shortfall in revenue.”
The report said hunting
of lions and other cats was
still banned because of low
population levels that could
not sustain hunting.
The move has been
welcomed by the Professional
Hunters Association of South
Africa (PHASA).
Ce, Adri Kitshoff, said
the Zambian experience
demonstrated that the value
of hunting to a country’s
conservation practices was
only truly appreciated once it
was gone. “Hunting and ecotourism
are the only means
by which communities within
conservancies can make a
living off the land. Without
these, they will see no value
in the wildlife and will be in
constant conflict with the
animals.
“Photographic tourism on
its own is not enough given
its limitation to areas of
dense populations of game
and scenic beauty. Hunting
complements eco-tourism by
attracting visitors to areas
where the game is scarce,
adding to the challenge of the
hunt,” said Adri.
She said the lifting of the
ban was a vote of confidence
in the concept of sustainable
utilisation and called on
Botswana, which stopped
allowing hunting permits on
public land earlier this year,
to follow Zambia’s example.
She said where hunting was
allowed, wildlife flourished.
“This is because it creates
incentives to look after game,
provides an extra source of
revenue for conservation
practices and is a deterrent
against poaching.