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Zimbabwe: Three Rhinos Killed in Gonarezhou

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:32:24 -0400

The Herald
Harare

THREE black rhinoceros carcasses were found last week in a state of decomposition in the Gonarezhou National Park.

Masvingo provincial police spokesperson Inspector Phibeon Nyambo confirmed receiving the reports, but said they were still carrying out investigations.

"We received the report that three black rhinos had been found dehorned in the Gonarezhou National Park and we are still investigating the matter," Insp Nyambo said.

He said police suspect that poachers had invaded the park and killed the rhinos.

"We are still carrying out investigations into the matter and as of now we still have scanty information," he said.

Insp Nyambo said they have since intensified their investigations.

This brings the number of rhinos that have been killed to more than 10 since the beginning of the year.

The country lost four white rhinos and four black rhinos from a total of 700 and 400 respectively.

The rhino horns are used mostly to manufacture jewellery and tourist trinkets among other precious valuables.

Launching "The Save the Rhino Campaign" last month, the Minister of Environment and Tourism, Cde Francis Nhema, last month described the upsurge in rhinoceros poaching activities as a threat to one of the country's endangered species.

The campaign was aimed at educating the public on the need to provide adequate protection of the species whose numbers are dwindling by the day.

The Parks and Wildlife Management Authority also deployed specialised anti-poaching units to the game parks to complement rangers in an effort to curb poaching.

The campaign was being carried out in conjunction with the Zimbabwe Republic Police to ensure efficiency and effectiveness of the programme.

In addition, the Government embarked on a rhino dehorning exercise in May this year in a bid to discourage poachers from killing the animals.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200808220521.html

Namibia: Case Opened Against Hippo Meat Officer

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:29:11 -0400

The Namibian (Windhoek)
Absalom Shigwedha

NAMPOL is investigating charges against a senior Police officer who was driving a Police bus in which hippo meat and an elephant foot were found at the Mururani veterinary checkpoint in Kavango two weeks ago.

Police spokesperson Sergeant Stephan Nuuyi told The Namibian yesterday that a case of possession of controlled game products and transportation of game meat without a permit had been opened against the officer.

The officer has the rank of Chief Inspector and is based at Katima Mulilo in the Caprivi Region.

Sergeant Nuuyi said he could not give the officer's name, as the case was being investigated by the Police's Internal Investigation Directorate, formerly known as the Complaints and Discipline Department.

Hippo and elephant are both protected species.

Last Wednesday, the Ministry of Environment's Chief Control Warden for the North-West, Charles Musialike, said they could not open a case against the officer who was driving the bus.

According to him, the Mayuni Conservancy, where the meat originated, had permission to kill the two animals and the chairperson of the conservancy, Chief Joseph Tembwe Mayuni of the Mashi Traditional Authority, had stated in a letter that the meat came from him.

Musialike said Chief Mayuni donated the meat to the chief of the Namibia Central Intelligence Service (NCIS) in the Caprivi Region and it came from a hippo and an elephant that were legally killed for a Mashi traditional feast held on August 10.

Musialike said the only thing the Ministry could do was is to fine the officer for transporting game meat without a permit.

The Police bus carrying the contraband passed through two roadblocks at Kongola and Divundu before the meat was discovered and confiscated at Mururani.

Mururani is the border gate of the veterinary cordon fence between the northern and southern farming areas, where there are strict controls on the movement of meat products and live animals from the northern communal areas.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200809030685.html

Kenya: Disaster in the Wild As Poachers Go for Tusks

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:22:17 -0400

The Nation
Dan Wesangula
Nairobi

Poachers are at it again; killing elephants in national parks and game reserves to feed an ivory demand in China, the world's most populous country.

So far this year, according to the Kenya Wildlife Service, 46 elephants have fallen prey to poachers and, in the last six months, more than 50 poachers have been arrested. Between June and August 23, KWS statistics show, 600 kilogrammes of ivory have been seized.

In July 1989, then President Moi made a bold anti-poaching statement when he set ablaze hundreds of tonnes of elephant tusks worth millions of shillings at the Nairobi National Park.

In less than 20 years, poachers had run riot in Kenya; reducing the elephant population from more than 130,000 (in 1973) to a paltry 16,000 (in 1989).

Disturbed by the memories of the loss, KWS and other conservation organisations in the country hoped that a 1989 worldwide ban on trade in ivory and ivory products by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) would be upheld.

Last year, Kenya and other African countries spearheaded a campaign against a one off ivory sale proposal by Southern African countries during the annual Cites conference held at The Hague. Kenya lost the fight.

The ban was lifted for four African countries, which were allowed to have a one off sale of government owned ivory stocks.

The two buyers are Japan and China. The four sellers intending to auction 108 tonnes of ivory are South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia.

"There is only one logical outcome of the move by Cites to allow China into legal ivory trade. Unfortunately, it is bound to hurt us as a country," said Mr Patrick Omondi, a senior assistant director of biodiversity, research and monitoring at KWS.

Faulting the decision to allow hina to buy ivory, Mr Omondi said that a report by the Elephant Trade Information System presented at last year's Cites meeting implicated China in 80 per cent of all cases of illegal ivory trade worldwide.

Among countries against the one off sale were Senegal and Sierra Leone, which have less than 20 elephants between them.

"Our anti-poaching unit is one of the best the world over and poachers are still getting away with killing elephants. I shudder to think of what will happen to elephants in countries with less advanced defence programmes," said Mr Omondi.

He said that allowing China into the legal ivory trade will open an easy passage of illegal ivory from Africa, considered the largest black market for ivory products.

The senior warden at Tsavo East Game Reserve, Mr Yusuf Aden, shares the same sentiments.

"Trophy hunters have already begun invading our parks. So far this year, we have lost more elephants in comparison to a similar period last year," he said. "Most of those we have managed to arrest indicate that they kill the elephants on order. The (ivory) market is already there, and poachers are willing to do anything to supply."

In July this year, three Chinese nationals, two women and a man, were arrested at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport with 2.2 kilogrammes of ivory in form of bangles and chopsticks en route to Zimbabwe. In June, 11 elephants had been felled by poachers.

Trophy hunting

"Previously, poaching was a preserve of Somali gangs that crossed our porous borders with rifles, other heavy weapons and snares to trap elephants. Now, communities around game reserves are also in it," said Mr Aden.

He attributed this to the rise in the price of ivory over the last three months. Last month, KWS agents arrested a Kenyan man in possession of 46 kilogrammes of raw ivory.

Mr Omondi said that this increase in prices is what is driving local communities to poaching. In Nairobi, the price has doubled from Sh1500 to Sh3000 per kilogramme.

In other areas like Mombasa and at border towns, prices are as high as Sh5000. The tusks of a fully matured elephant can weigh up to 90 kilogrammes.

Going by the highest market price, one grown elephant can fetch a poacher nearly half a million shillings. On the other hand, the penalty for poaching pales in comparison.

"Unless the laws are revised to increase the penalties for trophy hunting, Kenya will still be an ideal location for poachers since one gets a jail term of six months or less. At times, one is fined between Sh500 and Sh2000," said Mr Aden.

Before China's criminal law was reviewed in 1997, the penalty for killing a Panda, thought to represent Chinese pride, was execution.

Locally, the KWS is participating in drafting a Bill that aims to increase the fine to a minimum of one million shillings or lengthy prison terms without the option of a fine.

In the 1980s and early 90s, poachers used an array of weapons to kill the elephants including rifles and grenade launchers. Today, they have gone back to the old ways which are not as sophisticated as the grenade launchers, but equally devastating.

"They now use poisoned arrows which are a more cruel way of killing the animal," said Mr Aden. He said that the struck elephant may at times take days to die.

During this period of suffering, poachers trail it like vultures, waiting for it to drop dead before descending on it with saws and pangas.

Wildlife conservation group Born Free believes that elephant poaching in Africa has reached crisis levels and that the approval of China and Japan to purchase ivory stocks would only worsen the situation.

"As a conservation group we were strongly opposed to China being allowed to buy stockpiles of ivory. So far this year, poaching incidents are almost double the number recorded during the same period last year," said Ms Alice Owen of Born Free.

A senior scientist in charge of the elephant programme at KWS, Mr Moses Litoroh, said that as a major specie, a reduction in the number of elephants would cause an upset in almost all food chains.

"The elephant is among the few animals that can transform one habitat to another. Through its, at times, destructive nature, it can strip down a forest area into a bush land, turn a bush land into grassland and convert a grassland into a desert. It creates unique habitats for different kinds of species to thrive," said Mr Litoroh.

Currently, Kenya has 35,000 elephants. The KWS believes that state-owned parks and reserves can hold an additional 15,000 elephants.

"We are still far from our target. Getting to this number will mean preventing illegal killing of the existing animals. Even with a fool-proof system, this will take generations to achieve partly because of their long (four years) gestation period," said Mr Omondi.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200809010533.html?page=2

USA: Hunting and fishing have major economic impact on the state

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:17:10 -0400

RALEIGH According to the organizers of National Hunting and Fishing Day, people in North Carolina spend more than $1.7 billion annually on their recreational hunting and fishing activities.

National Hunting and Fishing Day on Saturday, Sept. 27, recognizes that economic impact while celebrating and encouraging outdoor recreation. All four of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commissions education centers will host and participate in National Hunting and Fishing Day events include John E. Pechmann Fishing Education Center in Fayetteville will hold a wildlife expo for youth.

For more information, call Kris Smith at (910) 868-5003.

Centennial Campus Center for Wildlife Education in Raleigh will also hold a wildlife expo. For more information, call Beth Gunn at (919) 707-0205. Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education in Corolla, will be a part of a Ducks Unlimited Greenwings youth event at Mackay Island Wildlife Refuge. For more information, call Sharon Meade at (252) 453-0221 ext. 8. Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education near Brevard will hold an introductory fly-fishing seminar, along with fly-fishing and fly-tying demonstrations. For more information, call Emilie Johnson at (828) 877-4423.

Spending by sportsmen supports a wide range of businesses while benefiting wildlife conservation and habitat protection, said Walter Deet James, North Carolinas Hunting Heritage Biologist. Those dollars generated by hunting and fishing have a ripple effect throughout the state, for rural areas, mom and pop businesses, the tourism and travel industry, manufacturing and retail, and much more.

Hunting and fishing are popular recreational pursuits for residents and visitors, who are apparently quite willing to open their wallets to enjoy the North Carolina outdoors. The economic stimulus of hunting and fishing equates to $4.7 million a day for North Carolina, according to the report Hunting and Fishing: Bright Stars of the American Economy ~ A force as big as all outdoors. It reports hunting and fishing directly supports 29,000 jobs and provides $818 million worth of paychecks around the state.

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission recently published The 2006 Economic Benefits of Hunting, Fishing and Wildlife Watching in North Carolina, which provides in detail the economic stimulus on market sectors, employment contributions and other factors of this important travel, tourism and recreational demographic.

According to its authors, Southwick Associates, economic data can help increase awareness of the importance of fish and wildlife, and, as a result, boost conservation efforts and public recreational opportunities.

For information on hunting and fishing opportunities in North Carolina and a free download version of The Economic Benefits of Hunting, Fishing and Wildlife Watching in North Carolina go to www.ncwildlife.org. For more information on National Hunting and Fishing Day, go to www.nhfd.org.

http://www.bladenjournal.com/articles/2008/09/04/sports/doc48c023fac3880192571337.txt

Namibia: Press statement by Hon. Netumbo nandi-ndaitwah, MP Minister on the elephant newspaper articles

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:37:50 -0400

The Ministry of Environment and Tourism has learnt with concern and surprise about the inaccurate, false media reports and the assumptions made in the articles published in the Namibian Newspapers of Thursday, 31 July 2008 on an article titled Last desert elephants in firing line and of Thursday, 21 August 2008 on an article titled Elephant shot dead for braai in front of tourists, respectively.

I would like to bring to the attention of the general public and the international community that elephants occur across the entire north of Namibia with two main subpopulations in the north-east and the north-west. In 2004 the total population was estimated at over 16 000 animals and, allowing for underestimates on aerial surveys, the true number this year is likely to be over 20 000.

The north-western population is about 4 000 animals and includes the elephants in the Etosha National Park. Elephants are being seen as far south as the Ugab River and in all of the river catchments which flow westwards to the Atlantic Ocean in the north.

The north-eastern population is over 16 000 animals. The recent increases are well in excess of normal growth rates and must be attributed to immigration from the northern Botswana population which is about 150 000 elephants, and the north-western Zimbabwe population which is about 50 000 elephants.

The conservation status of elephants in Namibia is more than satisfactory, their numbers already exceed what many would consider desirable for the available habitats and they have been identified as a possible threat to other rare and valuable species which Namibia is trying to conserve. There are no limiting factors preventing an increase in their numbers.

Elephants are classified as Specially Protected Game under Namibian law. Namibias wildlife legislation requires the preparation of management plans for species which are rare or valuable. Elephants are not rare in Namibia but they are potentially valuable and a management plan is in place.

In 1996, the Government of the Republic of Namibia through the Ministry of Environment and Tourism amended legislation, the Nature Conservation Amendment Act of 1996 (Act 5 of 1996) to allow for the formation of Communal Area Conservancies that gave consumptive and non-consumptive utilization rights of wildlife to rural communities.

Communal area conservancies manage 120 000 km square of communal land in Namibia and thus over 220 620 people live within these conservancies. To date, there are 52 registered conservancies that generate over N$ 6 million from consumptive utilization of wildlife including trophy hunting of elephants, per year. For Kunene region there are eighteen (18) registered conservancies which also benefit from the animal quotas allocated for trophy hunting.

The three elephants in question are included on the game utilization quotas for 2008 of Conservancies in the Khorixas district in the Kunene Region. The three elephants are shared by the conservancies as follows:

Torra and Khoadi-//Hoas Conservancies - one elephant
Huab and Doro !Nawas Conservancies - one elephant
Sorris-Sorris and Otjimboyo Conservancies - one elephant

The Ministry took the decisions to award the three elephants for trophy hunting based upon the upon the approved Elephant Management Plan, existing Policies and Legislation, and most important, the results of the game census conducted from the 19th to 20th June 2007, where 365 elephants were counted at a coverage of 53, 69%. These elephants originate from the Etosha National Park population.

With the counted elephant number of 365 in that particular area, there is no way that the sex ratio of the population could be skewed to three bulls only.

These quotas include problem animals and the Ministry will only under exceptional conditions consider granting approval that any additional problem animal be destroyed.

Human Wildlife Conflict is also escalating, and in 2006, the number of problem incidents reported to the Ministry was 5 637. During the year 2007, seven people lost their lives to elephants in the North Eastern Regions of Caprivi and Kavango, one person in the Uchab area of the Kunene Region and another one in the area north of Etosha National Park.

Addressing human-wildlife conflict requires striking a balance between conservation priorities and the needs of people living with wildlife. Elephant-human conflict is not new in the Kunene Region. The issue was also brought to Cabinet already in 2000 when an American tourist was killed by an elephant, and another tourist seriously injured. Two other tourists were killed in the same region the previous year. With the above tourists incidents, Cabinet resolved that the movement of tourists in specific identified areas in Kunene be restricted because of threat to the future existence of endangered species such as elephants and black rhinos. In July 2001, Cabinet was again informed about the Elephant-human conflicts in Kunene, and the Ministry was then instructed to take certain measures to reduce the conflict such as capture and sell, trophy hunting of problem animals and additional waters for wildlife.

The allocation of elephant quotas for trophy hunting in Namibia, is also based on the number which we are allocated by CITES, which is ninety (90) elephants per year only.

It is the opinion of the Ministry that the aggressiveness of the elephants and their new migration patterns inland is an indication of disturbance in the Uchab River, probably caused more by irresponsible eco-tourism and vehicles than anything else.

Namibias elephant population and the Kunene population in particular, is a healthy and growing population. It is growing at about 3.3% per year. The current levels of consumptive off-take are extremely conservative. They are well below sustainable off-take levels, and the population continues to grow and expand.

There are more elephants in Namibia today than at any time in the past 100 years. One of the reasons for their increase in numbers is that they have a value, communities have rights to manage and use the wildlife, and are starting to earn significant income from wildlife and this is creating the incentives for them to look after and protect wildlife, including elephants, all of which leads to a positive conservation result.

The Ministry of Environment and Tourism has also not issued a permit for research purposes to Elephant-Human Relations Aid (EHRA) or to Mr. Johannes Haasbroek himself, in this regard. Any work being done on elephants status in the Kunene Region by this NGO is illegal and cannot be relied on.

With regard to the elephant shot in the Bwabwata National Park, it is unfortunate that a certain Andrew Momberg who is referred to in the Newspaper did not approach the Ministry of Environment and Tourism to get the exact information of what had happened.

I would like to confirm that yes an elephant was shot in the Bwabwata National Park but not for the reason of a braai for a traditional festival as stated, and of course not in front of tourists.

What happened was that on the 08th August 2008, officials of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism responsible for the management of the Bwabwata National Park at Susuwe Ranger Station were out in the Park for usual Park duties. While at an area known as Horse shoe bend on the Kwando river, a herd of eleven elephants were from drinking water and heading towards the road which the officials were using. At a distance of about 30 meters before the elephants, the officials stopped, as the elephants started to approach the vehicle. When the elephants got very close, a sub adult elephant cow appeared to have noticed that there are people at the back of the vehicle and the elephant then came aggressively for the vehicle, and the Ministry officials realized there was danger, and they quickly lied down at the back of the vehicle.

The elephant then started lifting the vehicle, probably thinking the people were under the vehicle. It pushed the car twice, and with the third push, the car was almost overturned and the officials realized there was no other option but to serve their lives and therefore the elephant was shot. The elephant was also found with a wound on its right front leg and this might have caused its aggressiveness. It could not be determined what caused the wound.

At a distance of about 500 meters, Ministry officials met a vehicle of tourists and they informed them not to proceed with that road to avoid visibility of that elephant carcass, and the tourists adhered to that.

To clear the carcass from the Park, the meat was removed and donated to the neighbouring community for own consumption.

When I visited Bwabwata National Park on the 16th August 2008, I was shown the vehicle that was almost overturned by the elephant, and the dent or mark by the elephant on the vehicle was visible.

This elephant was therefore not shot for the Traditional Authority festival of Mashi Community, and not the Mafwe as the Newspaper reports, which took place on the 10th August 2008, but as defense of human life and in this case Ministry officials. There was also no hippo shot in the Bwabwata National Park for the purpose as reported in the Newspaper.

This is not the first time that officials of the Ministry are attacked by elephants or other wild animals. Recently the Warden for Khaudum National Park survived a similar incident when a vehicle he was traveling in was attacked by elephants on his way from the Park to Tsumkwe. He had to leave the vehicle and proceed on foot.

In May 2007, two officials of the Ministry, the late Tekla Haseb and Kapinga Kasanga, were unfortunately attacked and killed by an elephant in the Mahango Game Park, which is now part of the Bwabwata National Park.

During the beginning of 2006, a thatched hut in the tourist camp at Khaudum National Park was attacked by an elephant when three officials of the Ministry including the Deputy Director of Parks and Wildlife Management and two staff members of the Namibia Nature Foundation where inside. Fortunately no one was hurt or injured.

I therefore dismiss these two articles as published in the Namibian Newspaper, where it is reported that last desert elephants are in firing line and that an elephant was shot dead for braai in front of tourists.

The information contained in the said articles about desert elephants and elephant for braai is incorrect and misleading, and we call upon the general public and the international community to ignore these articles.

On behalf of the Government of the Republic of Namibia, the Ministry of Environment and Tourism further regrets any inconvenience caused by the incorrect statements and is hereby appealing to members of the media, to in future contact the Ministry and obtain accurate information and verification thereof.

Canada: anglers catch 318kg sturgeon

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 08:09:23 -0400

Matthew Ramsay, Canwest News Service

VANCOUVER - A hook baited with salmon meat was enough to tempt a 318-kilogram Jurassic monster from the depths of the Fraser River and more than enough to keep a local fishing guide and his clients busy.

Rod Toth was on the river near Chilliwack, B.C., Aug. 27 when he hooked the massive sturgeon. For nearly three hours the five men wrestled to bring the sturgeon to the surface, taking turns cranking the reel, slowly hauling the fish through the murky water.

"We didn't see it until the very end," Toth said. And when Toth's four clients finally laid eyes on the sturgeon, well, some language is best left on the river, said the guide.

Fishermen display the 318-kilogram sturgeon they plucked out of They just went crazy," Toth said. "I don't think we can print some of the words coming out."

With Toth at the helm, the clients grabbed the sturgeon by the mouth so they could hold it to the boat and carefully bring it to shallow water. On shore they tagged the fish, held onto its rough skin for the mother of all fish photos and released the sturgeon.

It's measurements were epic - 318 kilograms, 3.2 metres long and 1.4 metre in girth. For 40-year-old Toth, it was without doubt the biggest fish he's seen in his eight years as owner of Bent Rods Guiding.

He estimated its age at between 70 and 80 years old.

"It's older than my dad," he noted. But it's not the oldest, or biggest fish of its type, said Mary Sue Atkinson of the Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society, a group that began tagging the fish in 1999.

"Fraser River sturgeon are the largest fresh water fish in the world and they are the second heaviest (behind the beluga sturgeon)," said Atkinson. "They're living dinosaurs from the Jurassic age."

The fish can live up to 150 years, grow to six metres and weigh more than of 600 kilograms.

The longest ever caught was 3.4 metres, hooked in 2003. A second fish of the same length, weighing 360 kilograms was caught in 2006.

The fish are listed as a threatened species - still recovering from intensive overfishing in the early 1900s. They're at the top of their food chain and have been known to head out to sea.

The fish will eat just about anything but prefer salmon and oolichan.

One sturgeon was found to have a dead cat in its stomach, said Atkinson.

There are an estimated 55,000 sturgeon in the Fraser River.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=c8a76228-aa97-4492-bcd1-28cfffca2547

South Africa: African Adventure

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 07:57:50 -0400

Casey Mills- Mail Staff Writer

Finding a blesbuck in Colorado would require a trip to the zoo, but within a few months, Danny Stotler will have to look no farther than his wall.

Danny Stotler poses with his prize harvest, a kudu one of the most sought game animals in Africa. The antlers average somewhere around 50 inches in length; male kudu weigh from 800-1,000 pounds. Stotler is an assistant vice president at High Country Bank in Salida. Photos courtesy of Danny Stotler

Stotler and his father, Jim, recently returned from a bow-hunting trip in South Africa where they harvested a variety of African game.

Although many guide services offer the opportunity to hunt everything from cheetah to zebra, Stotler said he wasn't interested in that type of game.

"I'm more of a deer and elk hunter here locally, so that's pretty much what I stayed with - what they call the plains game," Stotler said.

He had a lot of praise for the hunting and cultural experience, but not much for the flight time. Flights from Denver to major airports in South Africa can take anywhere from 24-27 hours.

"Twenty-four hours on a jet - that's not fun," Stotler said. "But once you get there, it's 10 full days of really relaxing hunting."

Stotler harvested two warthogs, a blesbuck, a blue wildebeest, a didik and a kudu - one of the most sought African game animals. All told, Stotler and his father harvested 13 animals.

U.S. Customs law prevents travelers from bringing meat into the country from foreign nations, so meat from the animals was sold or donated in Africa and some ended up on dinner plates of those at the hunting lodge.

"What was great to see was that every single piece of those animals was used for something. Every day we were there, we ate meat from something other hunters harvested.

"One night we even ate zebra, which sounds ridiculous, but it's really good. The meals were fantastic," Stotler said.

The hunters get to keep the head and hide of the animal, which is dipped in a chemical solution to kill insects on them. They are packed and shipped separately to the U.S. by boat or plane. Stottler's trophies won't arrive until December or January.

"When they get here, they'll be dipped in the chemical solution again and then sent to a taxidermist," he said. "Then I'll start having them mounted one or two at a time. My house isn't big enough for a lot them. The antlers of the Kudu alone are 50 inches."

Stotler said the trophies are fun, but going to Africa was really about the trip and the cultural experiences.

"The trip was worth it all to me, just to be able to witness a foreign country," Stotler said.

"The airports are terribly corrupt though. When we switched planes in Johannesburg, they led us down a tunnel where we had a closed door meeting with about five people. A guy picks up your bags and basically says, 'If you want this to get on the plane, you will pay me.'"

Stotler estimated he and his father paid nearly $300 each in similar "tips" to airport officials just to get their luggage to the correct destination.

"We were fortunate. We must have tipped people enough because all our luggage got where it was supposed to go. You hear horror stories about people never seeing their luggage again over there. It's corrupt, very corrupt," he said.

The father and son became tourists for a day and traveled to Kruger National Park, "the Yellowstone of South Africa," and saw cheetahs and other exotic animals in the wild.

"I'm not out to just kill every animal I come in contact with," Stotler said. "I really enjoy seeing them in the wild - that's why I brought back eight million pictures."

Stotler said he would like to return to Africa, but would take a couple of years off so that it wouldn't become routine. He said in actuality a trip such as this really takes about a year to plan.

In addition to passport arrangements, several vaccinations are required before traveling to Africa. Stotler also had preventative medication to take while abroad to protect against malaria.

He said most serious bow hunters consider Africa a "must-hunt." He is a bow hunter only and said the opportunity to travel and hunt animals on the African continent was a great experience.

http://www.themountainmail.com/main.asp?SectionID=5&SubSectionID=5&ArticleID=14587&TM=41240.78

Australia: Man in hospitalised after kangaroo attack

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 07:53:47 -0400

A man who was attacked by a kangaroo after he reportedly came between the marsupial and its pack while jogging down a suburban street is recovering in hospital.

The man, aged in his 50s, was in the outer Melbourne suburb of Sunbury when he was struck at around 1.20pm.

Paramedics arrived a short time later and treated the man for several scratches to his head, chest, arms and hand, Victorian paramedic Stephen Weissbacher said in a statement.

"He was jogging near his home when he was attacked by a male kangaroo, he managed to fight the kangaroo off and made his way to a neighbour's house," he said.

"We bandaged his head and gave him fluid at the scene."

The animal is believed to have become spooked when it became separated from other kangaroos nearby.

The injured man is recovering at the Royal Melbourne Hospital in a stable condition.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=624066

USA: The Ethical Hunter in Africa

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 07:49:10 -0400

By Brita Belli

To 62-year-old David Peterson, who lives in a hand-built mountainside cabin in Colorado and writes books about ethical hunting, the notion is simple: If youre killing something and not eating it, you have no moral standing.

Peterson, the author of Elkheart (Johnson Books) and On the Wild Edge (Henry Holt & Co.) shoots only with a bow and arrow, considers hunting a spiritual pursuit and spends what time he is not walking the woods working to save public lands. To him, hunting has nothing to do with ego, or trophies, or record booksthe bragging rights that are the cornerstone of the typical African hunting safari.

Safari Club International, the worldwide club that dubs itself the leader in protecting your freedom to hunt, keeps an eight-volume set of trophy animal records from big game hunts and gives out yearly awards at a lavish banquet. But many of these hunts take place in enclosed areassome as small as 2,000 acres according to Montana hunter and author Don Thomasleading to serious questions about ethics and conservation priorities.

Thomas says he has hunted in Africa 13 times, mostly in Southern African countries like Zimbabwe and Zambia. He, too, hunts exclusively with a bow and arrow. Culturally, Thomas says the issue of enclosures in Africa is a difficult one. In the U.S., he has campaigned against canned hunting; but, in Africa, with its unstable political climate and widespread hunger, he says wildlife uncontrolled ends up dead. Whats more, some of these enclosures are massive200,000 acresand easily bypassed by animals like warthogs, dikers and orbis.

Andrew Page, the director of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) Wildlife Abuse Campaign, says the enclosures size doesnt matter. These guides are really ranch hands, Page says. They know all the haunts and where the animals water and feed. Its a sham.

Hunting advocates argue that licenses and permits provide lucrative financial support to African wildlife reserves, living wages to locals working as trackers, cooks and guides and a ready supply of meat to tribal people. Thomas says a typical 30-day East African hunt would cost $50,000, plus additional trophy fees that can run up to thousands of dollars per animal. At a place like the Humani Reserve in Zimbabwe, free-roaming animals include rare black rhinos, lions, leopards, elephants and buffalo (a.k.a., the Big Five) and a dizzying array of other species. You can drop $100,000 very easily, he says.

But Page says tourists armed with cameras and binoculars spend plenty of money, too. Hes watched that very transformation happen in the U.S. Since the 1970s, hunting has been on a steady decline, Page says. Wildlife watching is increasing...and generates almost twice to the general economy what hunting does.

Stefanie Powers, the actress best known for her leading role on the 80s TV crime drama Hart to Hart, spends half her time in Kenya working as president of the William Holden Wildlife Foundation, which she co-founded. Actor William Holden, who died in 1981, was an ardent conservationist and hunter and Powers doesnt see the two terms as mutually exclusive. But Im talking about responsible hunting, she says, not a bunch of guys with a six-pack of beer. Powers main focus is on educationgiving locals what she calls a relevant education focused on biodiversity and alternatives to habitat destruction. The foundations education center serves 11,000 students and is a model of environmental sustainability, reusing graywater, using biogas and recycling everything, down to the fecal matter.

It is bush meatthe illegal hunting and trading of meat from wild animalscombined with the easy access offered by loggers that is having the most devastating impact on fragile wildlife populations, according to Powers. Livestock farmers cant supply enough beef to meet demands, and sell wild animal meat instead, at great environmental and human health cost. In Kenya, hunting has been banned for more than 20 years, but as many as one million animals like buffalos and gazelles are being killed for bush meat each year, the Kenya Wildlife Service has reported. Brita Belli

In 1995, there were just 8,000 elephants in South Africatoday there are over 20,000. Each elephant consumes over 660 pounds of grass, trees and leaves a day, straining the ecosystem. South Africas solution was a reversal of its 1995 ban on elephant killing. According to government officials, culling will only be allowed as a last option and only under stringent conditions. The actual regulations require all killing to be quick and humane by using at least a .375 caliber rifle. Other options encouraged by the regulations include contraception and relocation.

Many government officials insist that the culling is only a small part of the regulation whose intention is to ensure the continued preservation of the elephant population. Clearly the elephant debate is extremely emotive and often unrealistically simplified, says Clarissa Hughes, general manager of ecoAfrica Travel, Ltd. The decision to cull elephants as a last resort by the government of South Africa was not taken lightly.

According to the World Wildlife Federations official statement on the new regulation, the organization does not advocate culling as the preferred population management alternative, but it does recognize that government managers may deem it necessary.

Other organizations say culling is unnecessary even as a last resort, as relocation and safe sterilization can accomplish the same goals. Animal Rights Africa, which supports animal rescue and an end to animal exploitation, calls the change in policy undeniably cruel and morally reprehensible.

The new regulation further impacts the tourism industry as big-game hunting pushes for a return. There are significant economic and social benefits derived from regulated elephant hunting. It is estimated to cost a client over $100,000 to hunt one trophy bull elephant, with a significant portion of the fee going to the national park system. And each elephant produces up to two tons of meat to feed local poverty-stricken communities. Nicholas J. Klenske

http://www.emagazine.com/view/?4326

USA: Woman sprayed with birdshot while dove hunting near Yuma

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 07:42:14 -0400

A dove hunting accident Monday should serve as a reminder to hunters to shoot only at high-flying doves, the Yuma County Sheriff's Office says.

Darby Engles, 38, was hit in the left neck, right forearm and legs with birdshot because another, unidentified hunter fired at a low-flying dove, apparently without realizing the woman was in the distance, said sheriff's spokesman Capt. Eben Bratcher.

Accidental shootings or near-misses resulting from shots as low-flying birds are something "we see almost every year" during dove season, Bratcher said.

Engles was treated Monday at Yuma Regional Medical Center and released, the hospital said.

She had been hunting with her husband Monday on the opening day of dove season when she sat down on the tailgate of a pickup truck in the area of County 14-3/4 Street and Avenue 2-3/4E to take a break about 8 a.m., the sheriff's office said.

She was shot when another hunter on the other side of some trees fired a shot at a low-flying dove, the sheriff's office said.

"He couldn't see her, it appears, but the BBs did go through the trees and strike her where she was sitting," Bratcher said.

That hunter was not located, Bratcher said.

Dove hunting season continues from a half-hour before sunrise to noon each day through Sept. 15.

Bratcher said hunters should pass on horizontal shots at lower-flying doves, particularly if they're not aware of what's located beyond their targets.

"They need to be aiming well above the horizon."

Free-falling birdshot from vertically aimed shots is not as likely to be dangerous, he said, because the pellets "don't have the velocity to hurt anyone."

DOVE HUNTING REMINDERS

Pass up shots at low-flying doves.

Treat every firearm as if it were loaded.

Keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to shoot.

Know what's beyond your target.

Do not hunt within a quarter-mile of an occupied home or building, on land posted with a "no hunting sign" or on land falling within the Yuma city limits.

Hunting is allowed from a half-hour before sunrise until noon.

Don't shoot across roadways.

http://www.yumasun.com/news/yuma_44102___article.html/birdshot_dove.html