December 9, 2013

Ignorant of The Realities of Trophy Hunting

BY Marina Lamprecht

This is an email exchange between a young, uninformed non-hunter
and Marina Lamprecht. (The original email was sent to NAPHA. )

Ignorant of The Realities of Trophy Hunting
From: N. Marsh
Sent: 07 May 2009 15:56
To: napha@mweb.com.na

Subject: Read.

I want you to know, every single one of your members are sick *****. Any one who hunts animals should be killed, brutally.

I do literally hope every single one of your members gets Aids and/or Cancer.

Demented *****.
Go and Die.

Thank you for your time.

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From: Marina Lamprecht
To: N. Marsh
Sent: Tuesday, May 08, 2009 6:55 AM
Subject: Re: Ignorant of the Reality of Trophy Hunting
Mr. Marsh!

The rude and juvenile contents of your e-mail make it very clear to me that you are totally uninformed about the reality of the trophy hunting industry.
Also, unless you are a strict vegan i.e. do not eat or use any form of animal products, including eggs, leather and so on, your comments are also hypocritical. Knowing the British fondness of bacon, roast beef and ‘bangers’ I somehow doubt that…!!
My colleagues will no doubt frown upon the fact that I have even bothered to respond to such a very rude e-mail, but I do believe that you are ignorant of the facts, and therefore wish to enlighten you.

Animals hunted for their trophies meet a far better end than domestic stock that are herded into pens, transported to abattoirs and then killed surrounded by the sight, sound and smell of death.
Wild animals are hunted in their natural habitat and, in 95% of cases, are killed instantly with one shot without even knowing that the hunter is anywhere near them. What an ideal way to go!!
Every inch of the animal is utilized. The skin and horns go to the trophy hunter, and the meat is used to feed local communities as well as sold commercially.
Trophy hunting creates thousands of jobs and therefore supports thousands of families. In my own trophy hunting operation we employ 20 people as well as feed 288 children at a local village school with venison from the trophy hunt – without hunters these children would not have regular access to protein.
If it were not for trophy hunters wild animals in most parts of Africa would have little value for the locals and would be killed indiscriminately as they complete with livestock (cattle, sheep and goats) for grazing and water, as well as with human beings for agricultural land and urban development.
Have you ever considered that domestic stock are the most utilized animals on earth, and yet no-one ever considers that they might become extinct? The reason is that human beings are dependent on them as an essential part of the food chain. Through trophy hunting our wild animals are given a value which makes them absolutely essential for the livelihood of farmers and communities. They will therefore be managed correctly in order to ensure their survival.
As if so often the case when dealing with human beings – if it pays it stays.
If you are a religious man, it would be clear to you that the Bible makes reference to man’s right to utilize animals. Let’s start in the beginning Genesis 1:26 the Lord creates man in His image to be masters over all life. This is not so much directly related to my argument, but more to further set up these key verses, Genesis 9:2-3 God tells Noah, after the fall of man and the flood, to further multiply and fill the earth. God placed the animals in Noah’s/Man’s control/power. €œI have given them to you as food, just as I have given you grain and vegetables.€
There are many more illustrations and wordings throughout God’s Word relating to the act of hunting. There are verses that mention the act of hunting and fishing. Fowling, chasing, the acts of mighty hunters, archers, the eating of wild animals, the cooking of meat, the use of bows, arrows, snares, pits, nets, using decoys, using dogs to hunt, nooses, etc., are all mentioned throughout the Bible. In taking God’s Word as authoritative, it is clear that hunting and partaking of meat is an accepted part of life.
So, Mr. Marsh, I urge you to reconsider your rather harsh and unfair condemnation of our industry.
Regards from our beautiful Namibia
Marina

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To: hunters@mweb.com.na
Sent: Thursday, May 07, 2009 8:15 PM
Subject: RE: Ignorant of the Reality of Trophy Hunting

And when have you eaten the flesh of Leopards and Cheetahs?

Though thank you for the nice reply.

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From: Marina Lamprecht
To: N. Marsh
Sent: Tuesday, May 08, 2009 6:55 AM
Subject: Re: Ignorant of the Reality of Trophy Hunting
Mr. Marsh!

You make a very good point!
Leopard and Cheetah are indeed not usually consumed in European cultures, but are considered a delicacy by certain African ethnic groups/tribes who also enjoy both cat and dog meat, as do the Chinese, I believe. How arrogant the ‘European culture’ is to assume that only Western culinary traditions should be considered!
These animals are not, however, usually hunted for their meat, but for their hides. As such, you might well argue that hunting them is wrong. However, both Cheetah and Leopard are carnivores and therefore cause huge losses to stock ranchers and game farmers, as they kill livestock and wild game animals. If they did not have the potential to generate a trophy fee paid by international hunters who wish to shoot mature males for their hides, these animals would be killed indiscriminately by these ranchers and farmers by trapping, poisoning or shooting irrespective of their ages – I have heard of farmers destroying entire families of Cheetah including cubs as, in spite of the fact that Namibia population of these magnificent animals have been managed so well that we have been granted a CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) quota to shoot a limited number of Cheetah as trophies. However, as the USA Fish and Wildlife Dept. does not allow the importation of Cheetah, our American hunting clients cannot take Cheetah trophies. As a result of this our Cheetah do not have as much potential to generate trophy fees, and are therefore not ‘respected’ by landowners and communities. As pointed out in my previous mail, ‘if it pays, it stays’.
Farmers/ranchers are willing to be tolerant of losses caused by both Leopard and Cheetah if they are in the position to recoup some of these losses through the income generated by trophies fees for the shooting of mature animals by international trophy hunters. This leads to a situation where females and cubs are protected.

So your argument, Sir, once again, is null and void.
One fact that I neglected to mention in the haste in which I wrote my previous mail is that trophy hunters want absolutely mature male animals who have the largest horns. In most cases these large males are past reproductive age, and yet their size and strength leads to a situation where they will dominate a herd of cows and keep all young ‘virile’ males out of the herd. Once these mature bulls are harvested by trophy hunters, young bulls move in and an inevitable population explosion occurs.
Also, trophy hunters invest huge amounts of money in wildlife conservation as it is in their own best interest that all species are protected for future generations. I have yet to meet an anti-hunting activist who is willing to invest as generously in the protection of wildlife.
These facts should give you some more ‘food for thought’.
With regards from a proudly pro-hunting Namibia
Marina

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To: hunters@mweb.com.na
Sent: Thursday, May 07, 2009 10:40 PM
Subject: RE: Ignorant of the Reality of Trophy Hunting

You do make good points and un-fortunately I jumped into it far too quickly. I am only 17, and thus I don’t think my beliefs on this are as honed as your own, thus my arguments may not be as good as your own.

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From: Marina Lamprecht
To: N. Marsh
Sent: Tuesday, May 08, 2009 6:55 AM
Subject: Re: Ignorant of the Reality of Trophy Hunting

In closing off this communication, my advise to you, young man, would be to focus on your education. In the future. please make sure that you are fully informed of the facts regarding any industry that you may choose to ‘attack’. You have insulted many good men and women who work very hard for the goodwill of our people and our wildlife.

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