PH and US Leopard hunter in Namibia arrested

[Rainer Ling]

Red Leg- that is exactly the point . An ethical leopard hunt with hounds is a superb experience-however if the hounds men were not willing or capable to impose transparent self-control measures- the writing was on the wall that hound hunting would be disallowed again in Namibia.
There were some more issues attached: Again an ethical leopard hunt with hounds is a superb experience if however an obese hunting client was informed by two way radio that the cat was treed and he was ferried by 4x4 vehicle to the killing ground by the PH or hunting operator, to shoot the big tom out of the tree on close range- that would not be tolerated within the Namibian conservation community. If my physical condition is in a bad shape I just can not participate in a very demanding hunt like on an Ibex . One hunting client stated that he was actually disillusioned by the fact how fast his leopard hunt was over. The thrilling experience of the leopard hunt with hounds is to keep up the whole way with the pack.

 

[Roy Sparks]

Hello Mr. Ling ,

I'd like to set the record straight here once and for all. My hound teams successfully hunted 19 leopard in 2009 in Namibia. I was a South African service provider working for Namibian based outfitters under valid work visa. I was never directly employed to conduct any hunts exclusively for a South African based and licensed outfitter. Some of these outfitters may well have dual SA and Namibian outfitters licences however that is none of my business , and presuming that it may well be totally legal and that the business they conduct is legal - it should be no business of anyone else speculating and harassing them.

The figure of 19 leopard was my contribution to trade and industry / tourism in Namibia and my contribution to conservation in Namibia as most of those leopard my hounds hunted would have ended up costing the '' LAND OWNERS " a great amount of money in stock losses and in all likelihood without my personal influence would have been wasted ultimately by trapping or poisoning. Instead a Namibian outfitter ( in fact there were a number ) boosted with the absolute confidence in my service , could successfully book a foreign client to spend money in Namibia ( taxable ) , a landowner got paid to get rid of his problem ( actually ironic ) - normally if they have problems with anything else they pay dearly for a remedy.

What the Namibian outfitters who hired me did with their earnings derived from these hunts is none of my business. All I know is I was paid a small portion in comparison to the total and of that small portion I did earn, more than half was spent in Namibia on costs derived from working up there - and I was subject to taxation every time I paid for anything.

Who was this South African Outfitter for whom I worked that plundered YOUR / Namibian natural reserves to the tune of N$ 2, 28 million ?

Hell I deserve a complimentary citizenship for contributing to an income worth that annually with my hound teams !!

Why should I have to buy a farm in Namibia to be able to make a positive contribution to anything of value in commerce or conservation ?

Mr. Ling as I recall you were highly embarrassed when I graced you with my presence at the NAPHA offices in Namibia for the purposes of an enquiry into a supposed transgression. You made one telephone call and I was absolved of any guilt. The second allegation met with the same outcome. This to the unending frustration of many antagonists who still to this day can not deal with the fact that they were up against the best of the best.

When they failed to destroy me by concocting legal based allegations they chose to play foul.

The special general meeting held in 2009 to cast a vote on use of dogs for leopard hunting was very far from democratic as it never even closely represented all the stake holders in respect of Namibian stock farmers. Only NAPHA members were allowed to vote to decide the outcome. Of the total amount of private land owners / stock farmers in Namibia ( custodians to the leopard ) , how many are NAPHA members eligible to vote ? No this meeting was not democratic in the least as it was hardly representative of the entire spectrum of stakeholders - where were all the Namibian farmers accommodated in this decision making. It was nothing but an old boys club meeting casting a vote.

Mr. Ling if Namibian landowners were not trapping and offering the leopard for sale , no canned hunts could have taken place. That's simple enough to understand.

I bare no shame for my actions , in fact I am damn proud of what I achieved. I'm sorry it could not be controlled then. Seemingly without us SA cans up there causing you irritation , you are still struggling with your own countrymen.

I believe you may be suffering from a lack of control on a departmental level , but fear not we face similar concerns South of you.

And that's all I'm offering on what happened - its history. As long as it remains illegal it will be done illegally , same as gun ownership. And I do not by any means support those actions , that's why I have not set foot in Namibia since the end of the 2009 hunting season.

Kindest regards ,

Roy Sparks.

 

[Roy Sparks]

Red Leg- that is exactly the point . An ethical leopard hunt with hounds is a superb experience-however if the hounds men were not willing or capable to impose transparent self-control measures- the writing was on the wall that hound hunting would be disallowed again in Namibia.
There were some more issues attached: Again an ethical leopard hunt with hounds is a superb experience if however an obese hunting client was informed by two way radio that the cat was treed and he was ferried by 4x4 vehicle to the killing ground by the PH or hunting operator, to shoot the big tom out of the tree on close range- that would not be tolerated within the Namibian conservation community. If my physical condition is in a bad shape I just can not participate in a very demanding hunt like on an Ibex . One hunting client stated that he was actually disillusioned by the fact how fast his leopard hunt was over. The thrilling experience of the leopard hunt with hounds is to keep up the whole way with the pack.

 

[Roy Sparks]

However Mr. Ling it seems that in the event the same obese client wanted to hunt an eland bull he would quite naturally be driven to and placed in a hide at a water hole in the shade sitting comfortably in a deck chair with a cooler box of refreshments and shoot his eland from there and radio in for the recovery vehicle - common practice for lots of species in Namibia. However the practise is not banned. And his $$ contribution is happily welcomed all the same.

As for the writing on the wall for hound operators - the South African service providers who were responsible for the vast majority of the successful leopard hunts with hounds were excluded by the Namibian hound men from actively participating in structuring acceptable norms and practises for the hound operators. This was by design as the head honchos in the infantile hound body of Namibians were notably and foremost inexperienced and incompetent and of very dubious nature by virtue of their conduct as is well known to yourself. Instead of embracing the South African hound operators to help them gain from a vast pool of generations of knowledge and experience the Namibian hound men sought to shut them out and create a monopoly for themselves. In short that was a monumental disaster.

Your increased leopard quota from 150 to 250 is attributable virtually entirely to the endeavours and sacrifices of South African houndsmen who introduced this practise to Namibia - notably myself being the leader of the '' pack ''. Furthermore since approximately 85% of the leopard quota was being harvested successfully due to introduction of hounds I believe that Namibia has a lot to be thankful for to these men and dogs for their overwhelming contribution to the economy of Namibia and tourism in general. You mentioned that 19 leopard hunts generated N$ 2.28 million - so multiply 212 by US$ 15 000.00 and see what houndsmen really contributed to your wildlife industry and economy of Namibia. Yes imagine that , all us South African houndsmen could be buying plots next Zuma and building our own Inkandla's. To insinuate that revenue of that magnitude was leaving Namibia in the back pockets of South Africans defies the logic of the most gullible and naïve.

Mr. Ling your arguments are futile in the face of the facts. For the miniscule amount of transgressions that were actually proven resultant from the practise of using hounds an extremely valuable resource aiding the hunting industry was discarded at a whim for reasons other than those so popularly brandished by the faction opposing the use of hounds.

Successful NAPHA members making use of the limited services of professional houndsmen were in a minority but enjoying the success of their choice to make use of this popular and highly successful method. The majority not enjoying the same success exploited examples of a few and mostly ( at that point ) unproven transgressions involving hounds to coordinate a well planned and executed manoeuvre to eliminate the opposition by calling a meeting to vote on the use of hounds. The outcome of which was a foregone conclusion as it was hardly representative of a truly democratic process. I personally stood next to land owners at the registration table for that meeting who were turned away because they were not NAPHA members. No all stakeholders and custodians to leopard on their land were not included in the decision making. In fact most were excluded.

That's all I have to say.

 

[Rainer Ling]

Mr. Sparks

<Your increased leopard quota from 150 to 250 is attributable virtually entirely to the endeavours and sacrifices of South African houndsmen who introduced this practise to Namibia.....>
The Namibian CITES quota for leopard was increased from 150 to 250 long before the trials with hounds started, so your assumption is incorrect.

<The special general meeting held in 2009 to cast a vote on use of dogs for leopard hunting was very far from democratic as it never even closely represented all the stake holders in respect of Namibian stock farmers .....>
As this matter is purely conservation and hunting related, it is obvious that the hunting community, in this case NAPHA, were the designated stakeholders to decide over hunting law amendments. Furthermore please take note, that NAPHA is fully affiliated body to the Namibian Agricultural Union (NAU).

 

[Roy Sparks]

Mr. Sparks

<Your increased leopard quota from 150 to 250 is attributable virtually entirely to the endeavours and sacrifices of South African houndsmen who introduced this practise to Namibia.....>
The Namibian CITES quota for leopard was increased from 150 to 250 long before the trials with hounds started, so your assumption is incorrect.

<The special general meeting held in 2009 to cast a vote on use of dogs for leopard hunting was very far from democratic as it never even closely represented all the stake holders in respect of Namibian stock farmers .....>
As this matter is purely conservation and hunting related, it is obvious that the hunting community, in this case NAPHA, were the designated stakeholders to decide over hunting law amendments. Furthermore please take note, that NAPHA is fully affiliated body to the Namibian Agricultural Union (NAU).

Mr. Ling you are totally wrong concerning the quota being increased as I started hunting in Namibia in 1998 and the quota then was only 150 leopard. It was increased a few years later than that. In those first years there was no trial period for hounds - hunting with hounds was totally 100% legal and not subjected to any trial period. For a number of years after I started hunting there hardly anyone was even aware that it was even taking place as I hunted for only one or two Nam outfitters.

Mr. Ling your argument is futile , you actually implying that farmers have no say in conservation and hunting ?? Ridiculous response. You make it sound like all hunting in Namibia only takes place on properties belonging to NAPHA members. Please Mr. Ling ! It makes no difference if NAPHA is affiliated to the Agricultural Union , I witnessed Namibian farmers being declined access to that meeting because they were not NAPHA members. your remarks fly in face of your previous statements in the letter addressed to me where you elaborate about the farmers being the custodians to leopard etc etc. NAPHA is affiliated to the Namibian Agricultural Union , not the other way round.

Far more leopard were hunted on non Napha members properties , so its simple to see how these stakeholders were tactfully excluded and prejudiced. The meeting was only for the benefit of NAPHA members that were compromised by overwhelming competition.

 

[Rainer Ling]

Apologies from Roy Sparks - Sparks Hounds (http://www.africahunting.com/index.php?threads/apologies-from-roy-sparks-sparks-hounds.2151/)
Discussion in 'News & Announcements' started by Roy Sparks, Feb 17, 2010

"Dear friends,

I have done a bit of soul searching over the last day or so and feel that I owe apologies to anyone I may have offended with regard to the content of my posts on the respective forums here at AfricaHunting.com

In the heat of the moment after discovering Jerome's superb facility I used it to vent my anger and frustration concerning my predicament with the leopard hunting in Namibia.I have not conducted myself as a gentleman in this respect and herewith offer apologies to AfricaHunting.com for having to field my harsh rebukes, and I apologise in turn to those who have been at the receiving end of my anger.

I trust that there are enough good folk out there in Namibia who will consider the welfare of the leopard so that we may still be able to have plenty around to hunt in future generations.

Futhermore I believe that time may well prove that the hounds were valuable to us as hunters and that they and their masters will be given fair consideration as an asset to hunting the problem leopard on ranches.

My hope is that we can once more be of assistance to the hunting industry.Namibia is a great country and one I could comfortably reside in.Generally the hunting is unequaled in Southern Africa especially on the unfenced private ranches.It is out of this world.So till things change my partner and I will have to abide by the rules and conduct baited hunts for leopard and enjoy the fantastic plainsgame hunting that is in abundance throughout the country.Yours sincerely, Roy Sparks - Sparks Hounds."

 

[Jacques.strauss]

Hi All

I just want to make it very clear that NO leopard hunting with hounds are allowed in Namibia, not even problem leopards, not even when a leopard is wounded...

My best
Jacques Strauss

 

[johnnyblues]

I was told you could hunt leopard with hounds once it is wounded. Can Jerome clarify?

 

[Roy Sparks]

I was told you could hunt leopard with hounds once it is wounded. Can Jerome clarify?

Unless a complete new law has just been introduced - a landowner may employ the use of a hound team to eradicate a problem leopard in Namibia , no trading may take place i.e. involving an outfitter and client or the landowner selling the opportunity to hunt such leopard incorporating the use of dogs while the leopard is unwounded. As far as I know it was legal to track down a wounded leopard with dogs. Herein lies opportunity to take chances to defy the law.

However that said in case of a true situation of a leopard being wounded I do not see any reasonable argument against the use of dogs to find the animal asap to end its suffering and to limit further danger to people. Any court would be foolish and negligent in prosecuting a person for following up a wounded dangerous animal with dogs with capacity to injure or cause death of a person where such a tragedy could be circumvented by the expedient use of dogs.

 

[Bruce]

Agreed.... FACTS FIRST,,, THEN CRUCIFIXION!!

 

[AfricaHunting.com]

I was told you could hunt leopard with hounds once it is wounded. Can Jerome clarify?

The law in Namibian does not specify the event of a wounded Leopard while being sport or trophy hunted but the law clearly says that dogs may not be used to hunt Leopard. I think that the way the law should be interpreted is that dogs may not to be used at any time during a sport/trophy Leopard hunt. This matter is certainly not clear and it is really for the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) to give us some answers as well as address other issues in the law pertaining to predator hunting in Namibia.

See within the law the following:
f) a predator may be stalked, tracked or ambushed, but dogs or horses may not be used to hunt it;

at

- Permit Conditions for Trophy Hunting of Lion, Leopard & Cheetah in Namibia: http://www.africahunting.com/thread...ting-of-lion-leopard-cheetah-in-namibia.4089/
- Official Leopard & Cheetah Hunting Announcement by NAPHA:
http://www.africahunting.com/threads/official-leopard-cheetah-hunting-announcement-by-napha.2048/

 

[johnnyblues]

Thanks.. Confusing for sure.

 

[johnnyblues]

Unless a complete new law has just been introduced - a landowner may employ the use of a hound team to eradicate a problem leopard in Namibia , no trading may take place i.e. involving an outfitter and client or the landowner selling the opportunity to hunt such leopard incorporating the use of dogs while the leopard is unwounded. As far as I know it was legal to track down a wounded leopard with dogs. Herein lies opportunity to take chances to defy the law.

However that said in case of a true situation of a leopard being wounded I do not see any reasonable argument against the use of dogs to find the animal asap to end its suffering and to limit further danger to people. Any court would be foolish and negligent in prosecuting a person for following up a wounded dangerous animal with dogs with capacity to injure or cause death of a person where such a tragedy could be circumvented by the expedient use of dogs.

Well said Roy. This is what I was told while hunting the cat in Namibia.

 

[Roy Sparks]

Confusing by design ?? As are many other examples of the law in our " GAME ". Loopholes by mistake or loopholes by intent. Many of these loopholes have been explicitly pointed out but remain unchanged - for the benefit of who and why ? The grey murk of law and the sharks that swim in the tides !!

Thanks.. Confusing for sure.

 

[Rainer Ling]

The "new " leopard regulation was adopted specifically to close loopholes. The law is very clear- no leopard hunts with dogs are allowed in Namibia, - neither problem leopard hunts nor follow up hunts on wounded leopard. This was explicitly tested by an Namibian hunting operator who approached MET to use dogs on a follow up hunt- this was strictly refused

 

[AfricaHunting.com]

The "new " leopard regulation was adopted specifically to close loopholes. The law is very clear- no leopard hunts with dogs are allowed in Namibia, - neither problem leopard hunts nor follow up hunts on wounded leopard. This was explicitly tested by an Namibian hunting operator who approached MET to use dogs on a follow up hunt- this was strictly refused

Thank you Rainer.

 

[Roy Sparks]

The "new " leopard regulation was adopted specifically to close loopholes. The law is very clear- no leopard hunts with dogs are allowed in Namibia, - neither problem leopard hunts nor follow up hunts on wounded leopard. This was explicitly tested by an Namibian hunting operator who approached MET to use dogs on a follow up hunt- this was strictly refused

Mr. Ling when was this new law adopted ?

 

[Roy Sparks]

Mr. Ling when was this new law adopted ?

The links supplied by Jerome deal specifically with restrictions on trophy hunting , clients , outfitters and PH's.

The hunting ordinance of 1974 states a owner of land may use any method foul or fair to destroy a problem animal including poison and may employ any person to do so.

If this ordinance has since been amended could you please provide a link to the new ordinance Mr. Ling , where it states a landowners limitations to dealing with damage causing / problem animals.

 

[BRICKBURN]

http://www.met.gov.na/Documents/Conditions for leopard,cheetah and lion.pdf

Permit Conditions:
5. Predators may only be hunted for trophies under the following conditions -

f) a predator may be stalked, tracked or ambushed, but dogs or horses may not be used to hunt it;


www.parliament.na/
No. 9 Amendment of regulations relating to Nature Conservation: Nature Conservation Ordinance, 1975 29 January 2010

114C 5 f)
a predator may be stalked, tracked or ambushed, but dogs or horses may not be used for that purpose or for hunting;