For those unaware of the facts, it is important to set the record straight. I am not a member of AfricaHunting.com and have never had any of these comments brought to my attention, either for comment, or a ‘right of reply,’ until I found out about them today – one day after American Independence!
My brother is a wildlife trafficker, smuggler of falcon eggs and is certainly guilt of breaking the laws of what we believe to be critical in the world of conservation. I do not, and did support it in any way.
After he was convicted in 2010 and served his time in an English prison, he had no job and returned to Africa after having lived abroad for 10 years. Having published a variety of conservation titles and the African Hunting Gazette, in particular, I knew I was running a risk having his association with my business, but my decision was based on the following:
· He had served his time (and if one believes in the correction service system, people should be allowed to continue their life – I was wrong!)
· His range of services for a division of the magazine was very restricted and limited, and to be honest, very useful.
· And he was my brother
I disclosed this to the media, way back in 2013 when he was rendering a service to the company. He never ran anything, let alone the Visited and Verified Program. The only person running anything is me, and we are a team here.
Pressure mounted and we all know that perceptions are everything and so I parted my professional relationship with my brother in 2014. Since then, he long longer has had any role, direct or indirect with the African Hunting Gazette. The business is still 100% mine. I am the publisher and the only reason it is what it is, is because of the team involved. So while some may decide to terminate their subscription, owing to the facts above, I am really sorry you feel like that, would love you to reconsider, but I respect your decision either way. Thank you. Richard Lendrum – Publisher
