Hunt a Leopard for $4,400 and Promote Conservation in Uganda

At the same time as Botswana bans hunting close to its reserves and Kenya uses Maasai hunters to protect its lions, Uganda introduces commercial hunting into its Pian-Upe wildlife reserve in Uganda hoping to improve conservation.

Hunting to Conserve in Uganda

Edyau Echodu, the warden of the Uganda Wildlife Authority’s Pian-Upe wildlife reserve, introduced the hunting plan. He said that hunting would help get rid of old animals that attack human settlements, killing and injuring people and damaging crops. He acknowledged that it was also aimed at increasing earnings from tourists.

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A hunter will pay $4,000 for shooting a leopard, $2,200 a buffalo, $1,700 a hippopotamus and, $200 a hyena. While the hide and horns will belong to the hunter the communities living around the reserve will receive 75% of the fees as well as any meat.

It is hoped that this income and the control of rogue animals will improve the relationship between the wildlife reserve and the surrounding communities. This is expected to bring communities to appreciate and protect the wildlife, thereby promoting conservation.

There is likely to be good demand from hunters, as the prices are much cheaper than those in South Africa, where commercial hunting is already practiced. There, large buck are hunted for $2,000 to $3,000 a head. The average price for a lion is around $15,000 although a white lion was recently hunted for $160,000. However, sport hunting in South Africa is done on commercial game farms rather than in reserves.

Meanwhile, Botswana Halts Hunting

In contrast, the government of Botswana recently decided to stop hunting activities in areas near national parks and game reserves. Hunting here had been allowed for the past 18 years and was managed by Community Trusts, which had a mandate to manage their natural resources.

However, it was discovered that the trusts were not a suitable mechanism as they had difficulty in managing expenditure to the benefit of all and often unfairly benefited select individuals.

Managing Co-existence in Kenya

In Kenya the Kilimanjaro Lion Conservation Project (KLCP) operates in the Mbirikani and Kuku Group Ranches which are communally owned by several thousand Maasai families who graze their livestock there. The Maasai are used to living in harmony with wildlife, but recently came into conflict with lions due to their livestock. This resulted in the quick and drastic reduction in lion numbers the project is trying to reverse.

The project appoints Lion Guardians, young Maasai men who know lions well. They investigate livestock killings and can arrange compensation. In addition, they help search for stray livestock, interceding if they hear that a lion hunt is getting under way. They also collect information on lion behavior and try to change cattle handling practices appropriately.

Image credit: edg1 via flickr, under a creative commons license.

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