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$40,000 to hunt an elephant and you can import the ivory legally into UK!31/03/2011 23:31:19
Hunted or poached? What is the difference? Import of hunting trophies into the UK - Why is it still legal?With all the noise that comes out of DEFRA and the government about conservation, Wildlife Extra was very surprised to discover that it is still perfectly legal to import rhino horn and elephant ivory into the UK. It is necessary to get a CITES license, and there are restrictions on reselling them (does anyone ever check?). However once a form has been filled in, you are free to go and shoot a rhino or elephant and bring the horns or ivory back to the UK (And probably almost every other country.). Sign a petitionLet's try to stop this nonsense, please sign a petition to completely ban the import of ivory and rhino horn into the UK.March 2011. We wrote an article a year ago expressing our surprise that it was still legal to import ivory into the US. We are absolutely disgusted to find out that it is still legal to import Ivory and rhino horn into the UK, as trophies! There is a debate to be had over hunting. At one end of the scale, a Kalahari bushman who kills to eat; At the other end is the poacher who kills a rhino for money, although arguably most poachers are ultimately just trying to feed their family, and are not as bad as the redneck who shoots a rhino for pleasure. In fact, looking around at many commercial hunting sites, the way that each and every hunter poses with the poor animal that he has just killed, it seems that it is a matter of trying to prove just how tough they are, ignoring the fact that many of the animals are kept in enclosures to make it as simple as possible. I really pity those who have shot and posed with such dangerous animals as mountain sheep, caribou or even a deadly wildebeest in an effort to boost their image - Why else would they publish the images on the web? At Wildlife Extra we have recently been sent several emails, totally unsolicited, offering us live animals from Tanzania, and hunting opportunities in South Africa and Canada. We do not object to all hunting, but some of these are just so obnoxious and others appear to be canned hunts; how else can you hunt American bison in South Africa? Surrender your ivoryTwiggy and Julie Walters call on the public to surrender their ivory and protect elephants from being slaughtered for their tusks. According to a wildlife trader called "Munira Birds Investment", you can buy a live African elephant for $30,000US, whereas you will have to pay more than $40,000 US to ‘hunt' and kill an elephant in South Africa. Munira offer a full range of Tanzanian birds, mammals, reptiles and insects, and they are not the only ones offering these animals. The prices on the right were offered to me by 'Kwiramba Zoo'. The one ray of hope here is taht at least one of these sites may well be run as part of a fraud, getting people to pay for animals that never appear. If so, this is a great ruse and will penalise the idiots trying to buy the wildlife!
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Comment on the location and tell us what you saw there
It is very frustrating to read articles like this, written by well-meaning people who must understand little of the context of hunting in southern Africa. The government and most conservationists in the region strongly support well-managed, ethical, sustainable hunting (not canned hunting), because it provides incentives for private landholders to maintain wildlife on their land, rather than growing cows or corn. Where do you think most of the wildlife is in southern Africa? In protected areas? Think again. Well under half is in government-run protected areas - the rest is on private land. Say hunting was banned - what would happen to that wildlife? The people or communities who own that land, and have to make a livelihood, would in most cases quickly get rid of the wildlife and go back to cattle or crops. Wildlife populations have rebounded in southern Africa in the last couple of decades precisely because policy changes meant that private landholders were able to earn money from wildlife through hunting, tourism, live sales, and cropping for skin and meat. Farmers got rid of their cows and brought back wildlife. Hunting has driven enormous conservation gains - this is the reality of conservation in a world where people have to make a living and space for wildlife to live is getting very scarce. Please, before you make ill-informed comments, do your research on the contribution of legal, regulated hunting to conservation in the region. You'll find some very exciting good-news stories out there.
Posted by: conservationist | 09 May 2011 08:22:19
It is very frustrating to read articles like this, written by well-meaning people who must understand little of the context of hunting in southern Africa. The government and most conservationists in the region strongly support well-managed, ethical, sustainable hunting (not canned hunting), because it provides incentives for private landholders to maintain wildlife on their land, rather than growing cows or corn. Where do you think most of the wildlife is in southern Africa? In protected areas? Think again. Well under half is in government-run protected areas - the rest is on private land. Say hunting was banned - what would happen to that wildlife? The people or communities who own that land, and have to make a livelihood, would in most cases quickly get rid of the wildlife and go back to cattle or crops. Wildlife populations have rebounded in southern Africa in the last couple of decades precisely because policy changes meant that private landholders were able to earn money from wildlife through hunting, tourism, live sales, and cropping for skin and meat. Farmers got rid of their cows and brought back wildlife. Hunting has driven enormous conservation gains - this is the reality of conservation in a world where people have to make a living and space for wildlife to live is getting very scarce. Please, before you make ill-informed comments, do your research on the contribution of legal, regulated hunting to conservation in the region. You'll find some very exciting good-news stories out there.
Posted by: conservationist | 09 May 2011 08:22:18
Canned hunting is a disgusting waste of an animals life..how can people living in developed countries (ie.U.S) actually think that it is acceptable to destroy a living creature purely for a means of entertainment. I completely agree that hunting for survival and to feed your own family..if you use every possible part of an animal..is justifiable. However keeping a wild animal in a cage, releasing it for seconds and then shooting it just shows what despicable excuses for human beings these people are.
Posted by: Dianne Murray | 21 Apr 2011 22:03:02
The comment under the picture of a dead Elephant "Hunted or poached? What is the difference?" shows a lack of research.
Poached animals are usually killed by poor people who only utilize the valuable bits like elephant tusks, the rest is wasted. The middle many they sell the tusks for pays them little as he makes the big bucks illegally selling and exporting the poached products. Very little income is gained by locals and the killing is uncontrolled, and no money returns to conservation.
With an animal shot by a paying overseas hunter, all parts of the animal are utilised as the meat feeds the local population who can not just go to shops like we can in western countries. The number and type of animal killed are set by a game management authority at sustainable numbers. This helps many species as some species such as elephants can become overpopulated in some areas and cause habitat destruction. Trophy fees are returned to the local populations and to conservation programs. Local people who earn an income from hunting protect wildlife while those who don't will poach it.
With hunting on private property the owner manages the populations so he has a continued income from his land. If hunting was not an option for earning an income most land owners would run cattle and eradicate wildlife to increase the number of cattle they could run.
If people don't believe regulated hunting helps wildlife look at wildlife population in countries such as Kenya who banned hunting. Wildlife populations quickly halved there and are continuing to fall, while countries with regulated hunting have healthy and increasing wildlife populations.
Posted by: Real green | 06 Apr 2011 11:18:32
While the people of Africa go to bed tonight without a bottle of wine to help them sleep people like you living in a dream world full of the usual bull sh@@@t think hunting is bad.
Well wake up it wasnt far back when we all had to hunt for food.
If hunting any animal helps pay for a bowl of Elephant soup then so be it.
What the hell has it to do with us living in a mad country which cant even decide what voting system we want.
If a few animals have to die to be turned into cash great lets see more like it I would pay £200.000 to kill a large animal if my cash was going to help save thousands of children from death.
come on get a life yours is safe and warm with food bought from a shop around the corner life in africa is quite different i know I have lived with such persons when you have done the same then come back and complain until then sip it up bet you dont like fishing. foxhunting all tree bunny huggers.
Posted by: A HUNTER | 02 Apr 2011 20:56:36
I am amazed to find out that one can legally import ivory into the UK. My understanding was this was not possible and is something that should be brought to the notice of the English general public. As stated above hunting is one thing but canned hunting where the animals have no chance of escape, with many kept in enclosures where the so called hunter can virtually shoot the animal from a relativly short distance is something that all responsible governments should completely ban. It is time that the South African government decided which side of the fence it is sitting on.
Posted by: colin guest | 02 Apr 2011 12:13:09
Yes, I understand that the community is supposed to benefit from hunting. But does it really? I can understand that with overpopulation of certain species that ETHICAL hunting is a good choice, but there seem to be a lot of rare and endagered species on the above list from either South Africa and Tanzania. I do not think that the respective governments do enough to safeguard against this indiscriminate "hunting". I bet a lot of these animals are shot as "canned". Where would you keep all these animals to shoot? Anybody with common sense should realise this, but unfortunately there are too many people with too much money that will go and hunt a Bison in Africa!!
It sound like a BIG scam.
Posted by: Werner Oeder | 01 Apr 2011 19:30:34
Posted by: Powell Ettinger | 01 Apr 2011 18:03:43
Its no use complaining about HUNTING its done and thats an end to it.
Animals in Africa are a commodity the same as gold they dig gold to help the country animals are also part of the monetary system like it of not.
The Aftrcan government do not have a pot of gold as our countries have animals are a way to feed the persons of that country shooting animals pays for the protection of other endangered wild life if an Elephant must die as they do at times why not gain cash to help other wild life.
come on cant you understand why this has been allowed you live in a safe world no shopping problems Africans depend on the meat from these animals the cash also pays for schools and education would you stop hunting and starve people of food and education or do animals come before humans!!!!
Posted by: A HUNTER | 01 Apr 2011 14:50:53
a bunch of sickos. the uk. is a cesspool of wildlife depravity. you can do or import just about what you like and there are no laws to stop any of it. south africa has the same lack of respect.
just about any government we've ever had have been bastards.; that's why anyone can do to wildlife what they like. only with good governments do proper and decent laws get passed and the reason things are the way they are is because of our past leaders. it's for no other reason than that.
Posted by: robert piller | 31 Mar 2011 17:09:37