Huntinamibia Huntinamibia 2019 (English)

Twenty years ago, when I presented the idea of an independent, but dedicated hunting magazine for Namibia to the 1998 Exco of NAPHA, I did not imagine for one moment how important this unwavering trailblazer would become for hunting in Namibia. Little did I know that the world, to which that first Exco introduced me, would be so fascinating yet complex, so challenging yet sincere. And how involved Venture Media would become in all aspects of the world of hunting and the journey through two decades. For me who grew up on a farm, but never held a rifle, it has been a steep learning curve to judge the content of the hunting stories we received for publication. When NAPHA was founded in 1974 there were only a small number…

Namibia has more wildlife today than at any given time in the past 100 years, increasing from about 0.5 million in the 1960s to about 3 million today because of the enabling environment that our policies and legislation have provided, principally through the recognition of the rights that rural people and landowners have to wildlife. From near extinction in the 1960s, Namibia now has the largest free ranging population of black rhino in the world. We also have the largest cheetah population in the world, the largest leopard population in Africa, the largest giraffe population, and our elephant population has more than doubled from a mere 7,500 in 1995 to over 22,000 to date. And we have an increasing free-roaming lion population outside national parks, the only country where lions…

The Namibia Professional Hunting Association marked 45 years of existence in 2018, while this HuntiNamibia issue celebrates the magazine’s 20 years in circulation. It is an achievement to be proud of. I know of no other African hunting association or hunting magazine that has reached such a significant milestone. In human terms, turning 20 puts you on the threshold of adulthood. No birthday has ever left me feeling different than the day before, but I remember my 21st birthday installing a sense of “freedom” in me. Though it also came with more responsibilities and choices to be made. NAPHA’s milestone is important because it speaks of our history, reminds us why we live the way we do and why we are where we are. It also reminds us to learn…

It was a time when there were still many lions in the Namib at the lower course of the Omaruru River. Old maps show an Omaruru River Game Reserve there. In the riverbed in the middle of that former reserve is a spring which does not even dry up in years of drought. In years of good rains a small stream of wonderful water seeps through the sand below the spring for a distance of several kilometres, sustaining lush vegetation on the riverbanks. This area was lion country. Right into the 1970s lions occurred there permanently, and repeatedly made forays onto farms. In 1968 a large male lion had been causing trouble on the farm Omandumba for weeks. He had already helped himself to twelve of my grandfather’s cattle. As…

The farm covered an area of 19,000 hectares, roughly forming a triangle with a side length of 20 km, and quite a varied landscape: vast grassy plains where springbok and ostriches roamed, zebra country with gently rolling hills which reminded me of the hills of Exmoor where a long time ago I used to gallop across the moor at breakneck speed, following the pack, chasing the fleeing stag – that Exmoor, stronghold of my soul, which I loved so much and where never again the bright chimes of a pack in full cry will ring out; so, same hills here, but rocky and parched. I baptised this area of the farm Little Exmoor. And then, incised by deep ravines, the uplands of leopards, klipspringers and dassies1, and finally in the…

- Namibia’s conservation success story The sustainable use of wildlife, especially trophy hunting, has played a critical role in the development of communal conservancies. Prior to 1998, there were only four hunting concessions operating on Namibia’s communal lands, with none of these concessions providing meaningful engagement with or benefits to resident communities. Today there are 46 trophyhunting concessions operating on communal lands, with the conservancies being empowered as both the benefactor and custodian of these hunting concessions.…