UPDATE: No more hunting cargo on our planes- Agri Limpopo responds

South African Airways (SAA) is only one of the airlines to take this stance before Emirates Airlines joined in – the second major airline to ban the transporting of hunting trophies within a month.

Their embargo will become effective tomorrow on May 15.

While several conservationists worldwide commended SAA’s decision, others role players condemned it in fear of the hunting industry, a mayor economic and tourism boost for South Africa and especially in our area.

Conservationists reacted positively and feel it will help to curb illegal trade in endangered species. It will hopefully also have an effect on poaching as well as the illegal trade of endagered species as well as products such as ivory, rhino horn, etc.

We would like to get feed back from our readers, especially those in the hunting industry.

Agri-Limpopo said: The decision by these airlines came at a very wrong time for the hunting industry in South Africa as the 2015 hunting season just started.

“Our country, and the hunting industry in particular, depends heavily on income derived from international hunters visiting our game farms. This income supports job creation and management of wildlife numbers and diversity in our industry” said Pieter Vorster, vice president of Agri Limpopo and game farmer from the Gravelotte area. “The multiplier effect of spenditure from visiting hunters can and should not be neglected when putting a monetary value to the negative impact on our economy coming from decisions like this” Vorster added.

Agri Limpopo believes that airlines opting for decisions like this should have entered into discussions with role players in the affected industries like hunting and hospitality, to discuss their motivations for their drive towards such decisions. To see this as a way to curb the illegal trade in endangered species and rhino horn, is to simplify a complex situ-ation. “We appreciate the willingness from airlines to contribute towards solutions to this problems, but it is not in the hands of airlines or any other international transporters of hunting cargo to solve matters that should be solved by stakeholders like PHASA, WRSA, Chasa, departments of environmental affairs and specialised policing units” Vorster said.

He extended a hand of support to these organisations by saying: ”As organised agriculture we will join hands with these stakeholders to serve the interests of our members and that of the affected industries. It is to the benefit of our country that we have to work together towards proper solutions to poaching and illegal trade in endan-gered species. But not by harming legal hunting and tourism as these decisions by airlines will do”.

For more information: Pieter Vorster – Vice president of Agri Limpopo – 083 259 5511; Willem van Jaarsveld – CEO of Agri Limpopo- 015 590 1024/ 082 451 7913