Sampofu aired this view recently in one of the many letters from different conservancies across Namibia that are being sent to EU ambassadors and to EU MEPs.
Sampofu said in the Zambezi Region alone the revenue generated from trophy hunting last year was 17.5 million Namibian dollars ( about 1.2 million U.S. dollars).
“This income is used by the conservancies to pay salaries of community wildlife guards, and to pay for the costs of managing wildlife, as well as providing household level benefits to very poor rural families,” he added.
“If the EU was truly committed to conservation, then we would urge you to further investigate the evidence that demonstrates how hunting has played a very critical role in securing conservation, rather than threatening it,” said the governor.
“The results speak for themselves, since conservancies were established starting in the late 1990s, we have seen dramatic increases in the population of wildlife in our region, including key species like lions and elephants,” he added. Enditem.
Source: Xinhua
