Game auction breaks record

IN one hour, the Ministry of Environment and Tourism generated N$19 million from a live game auction held in Windhoek on Friday morning.

A total of 175 animals were on auction and all eight black rhinos were sold for N$500 000 each. They were bought by PJ Haasbroek from South Africa’s North-West Province.The auction, attended by Environment Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah and Deputy Minister Leon Jooste, started at 12h00 and ended at 13h00.Business tycoon Frans Aupa Indongo bought all four Sable Antelopes on auction.Two went for N$120 000, one for N$110 000 and the fourth for N$100 000.The animals were captured in the Waterberg Plateau Park and Etosha National Park.Auctions of rare game species from State-owned game parks were approved by Cabinet in 2003.They are being conducted every second year and the last one in 2006 generated over N$9,2 million.The money generated from these auctions is put into the Game Products Trust Fund, which funds rural conservancies and community development programmes.The black rhinos were sold for export only and not for farming within the country.Other species on auction included black-faced impala, giraffes and buffaloes.The buffaloes also were for export only.Environment Permanent Secretary Dr Kalumbi Shangula said Namibia’s wildlife population had shown steady increases over the years as the Ministry moved towards joint management of wildlife with communities.”A major advance occurred when landowners were given the right of use of wildlife in 1975, which led to the birth of the wildlife farming industry in Namibia.Wildlife became an asset rather than a nuisance and populations of several species have subsequently recovered very well,” said Shangula.He said after Independence, support for the wildlife industry continued in the form of making wildlife from protected areas available to conservancies and farmers.”Furthermore, zebra, springbok, oryx and eland will be made available to resettled farmers and farms owned by formerly disadvantaged Namibians through the Wildlife Breeding Stock Loan Scheme,” he said.Shangula added that Namibian wildlife was also replenishing dwindling populations in other African countries.They were bought by PJ Haasbroek from South Africa’s North-West Province.The auction, attended by Environment Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah and Deputy Minister Leon Jooste, started at 12h00 and ended at 13h00.Business tycoon Frans Aupa Indongo bought all four Sable Antelopes on auction.Two went for N$120 000, one for N$110 000 and the fourth for N$100 000.The animals were captured in the Waterberg Plateau Park and Etosha National Park.Auctions of rare game species from State-owned game parks were approved by Cabinet in 2003.They are being conducted every second year and the last one in 2006 generated over N$9,2 million.The money generated from these auctions is put into the Game Products Trust Fund, which funds rural conservancies and community development programmes. The black rhinos were sold for export only and not for farming within the country.Other species on auction included black-faced impala, giraffes and buffaloes.The buffaloes also were for export only.Environment Permanent Secretary Dr Kalumbi Shangula said Namibia’s wildlife population had shown steady increases over the years as the Ministry moved towards joint management of wildlife with communities.”A major advance occurred when landowners were given the right of use of wildlife in 1975, which led to the birth of the wildlife farming industry in Namibia.Wildlife became an asset rather than a nuisance and populations of several species have subsequently recovered very well,” said Shangula.He said after Independence, support for the wildlife industry continued in the form of making wildlife from protected areas available to conservancies and farmers.”Furthermore, zebra, springbok, oryx and eland will be made available to resettled farmers and farms owned by formerly disadvantaged Namibians through the Wildlife Breeding Stock Loan Scheme,” he said.Shangula added that Namibian wildlife was also replenishing dwindling populations in other African countries.