Hunting season a lifeline to farmers

Commercial farmers and conservancies have a chance to earn extra money through game and bird hunting.

This follows the opening of this year’s hunting season by the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism.

Apart from controlling game populations on farms as resources are stretched by drought, hunting also brings extra income to sustain farming operations.

According to the latest issue of the Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU) newsletter, the hunting season enables members of the public, including tourist hunters, to hunt certain game species at the invitation of a farmowner, lessee of a farm, or a registered conservancy.

The union says hunts can be conducted from 1 May to 31 August on commercial farms of not less than 1 000ha, which are enclosed with gameproof fences, and on registered conservancies where quotas have been approved for huntable game species.

The NAU says hunts for game on commercial farms of not less than 1 000ha, which are enclosed with an adequate fence (normal livestock fence) will be conducted from 1 June to 31 July.

Birds may be hunted with the written permission of the owner or lessee of a farm, or of a piece of land of not less than 1 000ha, which is enclosed with an adequate fence, and with written permission from the conservancy committee if the hunt takes place within a registered conservancy.

“There are prescribed limitations regarding the number of game that may be hunted by a single hunter on a commercial farm or farms,” the union says.

This comprises a total of three large animals, or two large game animals and four small ones, or one large game animal and eight small ones, or 12 small game animals.

The NAU says large game animals include kudu and/or oryx, while small game species include springbok and/or warthog.

Prior permission from the Directorate of Veterinary Services is required to transport warthogs or warthog parts from where they were obtained, and for any game meat or product of game meat or game birds or products of game birds to be exported from Namibia.

“The directorate does not allow game meat to be transported from north of the veterinary cordon fence,” the newsletter warns.
– email: matthew@namibian.com.na