Permit Conditions for Trophy Hunting of Lion, Leopard & Cheetah in Namibia

[AfricaHunting.com]

Permit Conditions for Trophy Hunting of Lion, Leopard & Cheetah in Namibia
from the Permit Office of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Directorate Scientific Services

1. A trophy hunter, trophy hunting guide and trophy hunting operator must read and acknowledge and sign the predator trophy hunting permit conditions before the hunt commences.

2. A predator trophy hunting permit must be obtained before the hunt for a predator commences and must be in the physical possession of the trophy hunting guide while the predator is being hunted.

3. The trophy hunting operator concerned must give notice of the predator hunt to the regional office of the Ministry seven days before the hunt commences.

4. A predator trophy hunting permit is
a) issued to a trophy hunter;
b) non-transferable; and
c) valid for a period specified in the permit.

5. Predators may only be hunted for trophies under the following conditions –
a) only free roaming, self-sustaining and adult predators may be hunted as trophies with a minimum skull measurement of 27cm for a cheetah, 32cm for a leopard and 52cm for a lion;
b) a female leopard may not be hunted as trophy;
c) a predator may not be shot in any form of confinement or in a trap or in an area which is smaller than 1000ha;
d) a predator may be baited, but a live animal may not be used as bait;
e) a predator may not be shot within a range of 1km of any other predator kept in captivity in any form;
f) a predator may be stalked, tracked or ambushed, but dogs or horses may not be used to hunt it;
g) predator trophy hunting may not take place during the period between 30 minutes after sunset in any day and 30 minutes before sunrise the following day and artificial light is prohibited;
h) a predator may not be shot from a moving vehicle or chased in any way with an aircraft;
i) a predator may not be hunted unless it belongs to a wild and sustainable population (It exists as a naturally interacting member of a wild and sustainable population in an area large enough for it to breed, forage and hunt freely and where there is a natural state of balance between forage, predator and prey);
j) a predator bred in captivity may not be trophy hunted;
k) a predator to be hunted may not be drugged in any form;
l) a canned hunting (any restriction of an animal’s natural movement for the purpose of trophy hunting) in any form is illegal; and
m) a predator may only be hunted in areas as specified on the predator trophy hunting permit;
n) once the predator has been killed, the following must occur –
(i) the following photos must be taken immediately after the hunt, at the location where the predator was killed –
(aa) the predator lying on its right showing the feet;
(bb) the predator lying on its left showing the feet;
(cc) a close-up photo from the front showing the face of the predator, clearly depicting facial features: nose, eyes, and mouth, and a visible leopard hunting quota tag number, in case of a leopard;
(dd) a photo of the trophy hunter and trophy hunting guide posing with the predator shot must be taken,
with all four legs of the predator stretched out for clear visibility;
(ii) the trophy hunter and trophy hunting guide must sign all the photos on the reverse side of the photos;
o) the recording sheet of the predator trophy hunting permit in Schedule G has to be filled in, in permanent ink, immediately after the hunt;
p) the trophy hunter and trophy hunting guide must sign on the reverse side of the predator trophy hunting permit with the following statement:
“We hereby individually and collectively declare that the predator recorded and photographed was hunted, shot and killed by us in full accordance with all the predator trophy hunting permit conditions.”;
q) a telephonic report must be given to the staff member responsible for the predator trophy hunting permit register in the Permit Office in Windhoek within 72 hours of the predator being killed, and full details of the predator trophy hunting permit must be provided;
r) an unsuccessful predator hunt has to be reported to the Permit Office in Windhoek within 72 hours after the trophy hunting permit has expired;
s) no application for subsequent predator trophy hunting permit
from a trophy hunting operator may be processed if the Permit Office has not received the report on the previous permit issued to his or her client (trophy hunter);
t) the original predator trophy hunting permit with full details as described in paragraph (u) must be handed in to the Taxidermist or shipping agent with the trophy; and
u) an application for an export permit to export a predator trophy must be handed in at the Permit Office in Windhoek and must be accompanied by –
(i) a copy of the passport of the trophy hunter and of a page thereof with an immigration stamp indicating the date of entry;
(ii) the original predator trophy hunting permit;
(iii) the leopard trophy hunting quota tag, in case of a leopard;
(iv) the recording sheet; and
(v) the photos referred to in paragraph ;
v) export permit may not be issued if the conditions in paragraph
(u) have not been met.

Any contravention or non compliance with any regulation or permit condition is dealt with in accordance with the Nature Conservation Ordinance, 1975 (Ordinance No. 4 of 1975), especially sections 84(5), 86, 87, 88 and 89.