One of our Outfitter friends asked us to post this message:

Today sees the jubilation of anti-hunters and so called conservationists in the fact that Botswana’s elephant hunting season has been put on hold because of Covid-19, this in itself may be a small victory for the masses but a huge calamity for communities, hunting operators and all associated operations that rely on a regular income generated from the hunters dollar in Africa.

With the continued spread of the global pandemic that is effectively shutting down the entire world very little thought is given to the people that are the true custodians of the African wilderness, the hunting safari operator and professional hunter.

Does the general public or “key board warrior” truly think that the “stay home – stay safe” slogan is absorbed by the poacher in the village or the ivory trader in the town? They can both now take advantage of and hoard the benefits of the distracted authorities to their advantage and the inevitable illegal smuggling of the goods once shipping and cargo routes resume operations in full.

Cancelling a hunt in Africa is like sticking a knife into an already open wound, we as operators and Ph’s try our best to utilize every dollar paid to the betterment of a wild population of game no matter where our concessions are, from Cameroon to Mozambique, Senegal to South Africa, conservation of our heritage and our wildlife is at the forefront of any hunting operation. In cancelling a hunt, we lose those vital dollars that can still be utilized for anti-poaching operations, Covid-19 is hopefully not out in the wide-open spaces of Africa. We rely on that income and those dollars to allow us to continue our operations even though the rest of the world is closing down. We want to be there when the poacher crosses the boundary line, we want to be there to find the poachers snare or confiscate the poachers stollen rifle or home-made musket.

With you as the hunting client postponing your hunt to a later date rather than cancelling outright you are helping us to help preserve what we all love, the African wilderness, the wild animals that freely roam it and the continued effort of all of us to maintain a presence in those wilderness areas to stop poaching.

This presence however requires money and salaries must continue to be paid, with your postponement rather than cancellation we can continue to do that.
I thank you for your time and your continued support in a time of great concern for everyone.

Postpone rather than cancel and save Africa and her wildlife.