An Open Letter to Non-Hunters

Hunting for us …is MORE than just sport. In this open letter to non-hunters and activists, we share the reality of what trophy hunting does for the hungry and unemployed here in Namibia.

WARNING: These pictures may be graphic for some.

From the very beginning we have endeavored to balance an authentic, challenging and rewarding experience for clients, but also to carefully conserve our natural wildlife. We believe a hunt should be fair & ethical.

But the world on social media has become very black and white. A picture of a hunter and a successful hunt pops up and a tirade of hate is unleashed, escalated by media and one-sided news stories. But we live in Namibia. Here are pictures and a story you will never see covered anywhere…
Namibia is one of the wealthiest countries in Africa, but it also sadly has the most uneven distribution of wealth in the world. Half of our population lives below the poverty line. Since many Namibians live off extremely low wages or by subsistence farming, food is often inadequate for families. Agriculture and Tourism (including hunting) play an enormous role in our country’s economy, bringing in tourists from all over the world to help bring in outside revenues into the local economy. But what about the animals that are hunted?

Nothing goes to waste. While it’s easy for people half a world away to picture an animal wasted and a trophy claimed, this isn’t the reality here. Following an elephant hunt, impoverished people walk 20 MILES and wait in line to claim 1 POUND of elephant meat to sustain themselves and their families. Nothing goes to waste.

Here, there aren’t grocery stores within a mile of where you live stocked floor to ceiling with affordable food.
Here, there aren’t jobs for everyone that allow people to buy what they need as opposed to forage for it. 1/3 of our population are unemployed.
We routinely have to block those who look at who we are and what we do through a narrow lens. I challenge you to use the same language to someone who would walk 20 miles to feed their children. The world isn’t black and white. Here, half a world away, wildlife is a resource…one we don’t squander. Managed, it feeds as well as it generates.

Think about that.