By Emmanuel Koro in Johannesburg, SA

IN her May 11 2021 speech that included a proposed Bill to ban international hunting trophy imports, Queen Elizabeth II gave the first strongest hint that the British Government and animal rights groups are at tangent with the international hunting needs of wildlife-rich African countries such as Zimbabwe. 

African countries and communities co-existing with wildlife don’t ever want hunting to be banned because it generates revenue for not only wildlife conservation but also habitat conservation.

Sadly, the British Government, as indicated by the Queen’s speech this week, seems not to acknowledge such benefits. Some of the benefits from hunting income include its use for the socio-economic wellbeing of African rural communities co-existing with wildlife. 

Therefore, the British are planning to go ahead with plans that will not only destroy African wildlife, but also its habitat and the hopes of socio-economic development in African communities co-existing with wildlife.

The Queen’s Speech pointed out that: “Imports of hunting trophies will be banned and the Government will implement the Ivory Act, banning the dealing in ivory.”

What they didn’t disclose is that such bans would harm African trophy hunting exports as the UK is one of the lucrative markets for Africa’s trophy hunting exports.

The closure of the UK trophy hunting export market would be a double-blow for wildlife-rich African countries. 

They have pinned, and continue to pin, their hopes to raise wildlife and habitat conservation revenue from international hunting, including international trade in ivory.

Meanwhile, wildlife producer and hunting communities from Southern Africa say that the British Government’s proposal to introduce an international hunting trophy import ban ‘might cause more harm to African wildlife and people than did its colonial control and looting of the African continent’.

They argue the British Government’s attempt to ban trophy hunting imports ignores the wildlife and habitat as well as socio-economic benefits that international hunting is bringing to Africa.

From Zimbabwe comes a successful hunting benefits story that might make the British decide not to ban hunting if they really love to conserve African wildlife and its habitat. 

This week, a representative of Masoka, one of Zimbabwe’s richest wildlife producer communities, Ishmael Chahukura, said he was disappointed to learn that the British Government was going ahead with its plans to ban hunting trophy imports.

If ever there was a quiz: “What makes an African hunting community representative feel the need to engage in a debate with the British Government and Queen Elizabeth II?” – the answer would be: “To stop them from banning trophy hunting imports.”

In a touching interview, Chahukura appealed to the British Government to rethink their damaging plan. 

“Those who insist on banning hunting don’t care about wildlife and habitat conservation in Africa, including Zimbabwe,” he said

He blamed Western animal rights groups for continuing to mislead the British Government to pursue an international trophy hunting imports ban Bill that will cause a wildlife and habitat conservation disaster on the African continent.

“The animal rights groups must know that Africans are genuinely concerned about wildlife as well as habitat conservation,” said Chahukura. 

“If they ban trophy hunting imports, then they are banning conservation in Africa. 

“Communities are conserving wildlife because they know they benefit from it. 

“If they don’t benefit from it, then there is no reason to live with wildlife in Africa, including Zimbabwe. 

“That will be the end of wildlife conservation in Africa.”

For Chahukura, perhaps the most effective way to make the British Government and Queen of England see the benefits of hunting is to outline some of the most impressive benefits that his Masoka wildlife-rich community has and continues to receive from international hunting.

“Some of the most impressive socio-economic developments that were made possible with funding from hunting in our community include the Masoka Clinic, the schools and a road that, for the first time, linked us to the rest of the world,” he said.

“Before the hunting revenue-funded schools were built, only a few boys had access to primary and secondary education. 

“The girls were disadvantaged because they could not travel 42 kilometres to the nearest school and clinic.”

What many people worldwide might not know is that hunting revenue can also remove social ills as revealed by Chahukura. 

“Before we started earning hunting revenue in Masoka, we couldn’t build schools and also girls could not attend distant schools,” he said. 

“This created major social ills for the girl-child, including early marriages and unwanted pregnancies. 

“The level of illiteracy among girls was extremely high. 

“Fortunately, hunting removed all these social ills in 1988 when the first primary school was built using revenue from international hunting, giving boys and girls equal access to education. 

“We later built a secondary school, using hunting income. 

“The more years girls spent studying, the less the early marriages and there was a drastic reduction in unwanted pregnancies.

“Come to Masoka community of Zimbabwe’s Lower Guruve District today and you will discover that the hunting revenue-built school in Masoka, that co-exists with wildlife, has produced university graduates, including medical doctors, engineers, accountants, teachers and nurses.”

Revenue from a hunted lion, elephant, leopard, kudu or buffalo can produce university graduates who can be traced to other Zimbabwean wildlife producer and hunting communities.

Some of these professionals have been ‘poached’ to work in Western countries that are, ironically, opposing international hunting.

The chairman of Zimbabwe Painted Hunting Dog Conservation and former deputy Board chairman of the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, Jerry Gotora, said: “There are many of them (professionals educated in Zimbabwe’s hunting communities). 

“I met one of them in Hong Kong, about 10 years ago. 

“He is a top Hong Kong banker from Uzumba and Maramba/Pfungwe. 

“His name is Jasom Watson. He is highly educated. He has also worked in Australia.”

In these Zimbabwean hunting communities, it is such stunning socio-economic benefits from hunting that show the interdependence of humans and nature; that have made most people value the need to protect wildlife from poachers. 

The benefits have also made them appreciate the need to protect wildlife habitat by stopping timber poaching and all forms of environmental degradation.

Unfortunately, by introducing a trophy hunting import ban, the British Government is unknowingly going to remove the impressive wildlife and habitat conservation efforts that hunting revenue continues to support in Africa, including wildlife-rich Zimbabwe.

The downside of banning hunting would be a wildlife and habitat conservation disaster. 

Why? 

Hunting communities throughout Africa are increasingly saying their last land-use option, if hunting is banned, would be to convert national parks as well as game reserves into crop fields.

Emmanuel Koro is a Johannesburg-based international award-winning independent environmental journalist who writes, and has written, extensively on environment and development issues in Africa.