African Wildlife & Environment Issue 78

GENERAL

Dr John Ledger EDITORIAL Recent months have seen a well-organised campaign against hunters in the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Animal rights activists have whipped up a media frenzy, and calls have been made from both side of the Atlantic for the introduction of legislation that would prevent hunters from bringing back parts of wild animals hunted in Africa as their so-called 'trophies'. In the process the hunters are demonised and all kinds of false claims are published that their activities are driving some hunted species to extinction. As often happens, the views of Africans are hardly ever reported in the overseas media, which is a pity, because they tell a very different story.

Members of WESSA and readers of African Wildlife & Environment magazine are all interested in caring for the Planet, the environment, wildlife and its conservation. Some are themselves active hunters, other have mixed feelings about hunting, and yet others are totally opposed to the idea of hunting, particularly when it is represented as a 'sport' which involves the display of 'trophies' as proof of success. I recently read an interesting article entitled Hunting Is Conservation: A Paradox Explained in which the author looks into the history of hunting in North America and provides some thought-provoking observations. You can find the article here: https:// dailycaller.com/2020/07/09/hunting-is-conservation-a- paradox-explained/. "Hunting today is about connecting with the natural world, testing one’s patience and skill in a challenging environment, the thrill of the chase, and passing ethics and naturalist know-how from one generation to the next. Some modern hunters feel a strong connection to their prey, one that motivates them to conserve the species and the habitats they rely on, and to protect the primeval experience of the hunt for future generations." In Africa, the Community Leaders Network (CLN) is a collaborative grouping of rural representatives from Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The Vision of the CLN is socially and economically resilient rural southern African people whose livelihoods are grounded in their rights to sustainably use their natural resources, supported by international respect for their existing governance systems. Its Mission is to ensure that the voices of rural African people are heard, and influence international, regional and national public and policy-making processes that affect their rights and abilities to

sustainably manage those natural resources on which their livelihoods depend. Its Goal is equitable and sustainable use rights of their wildlife and other natural resources, for social and environmental justice, and the economic benefit of present and future generations of rural peoples. Towards the achievement of its goal, the overall objective of the CLN is to take its rightful space in policy negotiation, development and implementation processes to ensure informed decision-making at national, regional and international levels that reflects the demands and rights of rural people to manage their wildlife. The CLN recently produced a powerful video aimed at the celebrities who have lent their weight to the anti-hunting campaign. https://resourceafrica. net/video-let-africans-decide/

And the CLN has also written to the Governor of Connecticut in the USA, regarding plans to introduce legislation to ban the import of wildlife products from Africa. It is too long to quote in full here, but the following extracts are relevant: "As Chairperson of the Community Leaders Network, which represents millions of rural people in nine countries in Southern Africa, the majority of whom live below the poverty line, I am urgently appealing to you to assist us by preventing the undermining of our globally recognized conservation

1 | African Wildlife & Environment | Issue 78 (2021)