Lion hunt raises N$150k for conservation

A problem-causing male lion was shot in a trophy hunt last week Thursday in the mountains east of Sesfontein, generating N$150 000.The lion had allegedly been terrorising the communities living in the Sesfontein and Puros areas for several years.The N$150 000 that the hunt generated will be split between the Puros and Sesfontein conservancies, of which each receives N$65 000 to assist in paying affected farmers.Furthermore N$20 000 is paid to the Game Product Trust Fund to be reinvested in conservation.According to spokesperson of the ministry Romeo Muyunda, the hunt was done in accordance with the Nature Conservation Ordinance.The lion, known as Romeo (XPL 131), was key in populating the Hoanib area.Muyunda however said that the lion has been notorious for killing people’s livestock since 2019.“He has caught 13 donkeys and 9 goats. The lion has on numerous times been observed moving into people’s settlements at night, posing a threat to their lives. He was also displaying traits that he was not scared of people.”He added that the lion was collared and therefore his movements were tracked which means that the ministry knew its full history.Myunda said the ministry together with conservation stakeholders in the area such as the Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation (IRDNC) and community conservancies had to take some preventive measures before the lion was declared a problem animal.This includes chasing the lion out of people’s settlements on numerous occasions and translocating the lion further west of Sesfontein to an area called Gai!Ai.However, it returned and continued to cause more problems.“Based on the above, communities in the area had appealed to the ministry to intervene before the lion caused more damage or in the worst case attack a person,” said Muyunda.He said on this basis the lion was declared a problem-causing animal and was trophy hunted to generate funds for the affected communities through conservancies.“Destruction of problem causing animals is part of our conservation methods, particularly in mitigating human-wildlife conflict. Communities who live with wildlife know how crucial this activity is in providing them with relief from destructive and dangerous animals.”The ministry called upon Namibians to be wary of individuals and organisations whose only interest is to discredit the ministry.“They have done very little to assist the communities or authorities to remedy the situation, they only wait for decisions to be taken then find things to criticise."

Lion hunt raises N$150k for conservation

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-18

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Lion hunt raises N$150k for conservation

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-18

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