Black rhino hunter says he is a local hero
The controversial 2017 black rhino hunt has taken yet another twist with the hunter saying he received a medal in Namibia and is a local hero in the country, in a bid to import his trophy to the States.
A Texas hunter who paid U$275 000 (N$3.4 million) to hunt a black rhino in Namibia has described himself as a “national hero” in Namibia, following an outcry from animal rights groups in an attempt to stop the import of the trophy into the US.
“Now, in Namibia, I am a national hero,” Lacy Harber, 81, said. “The Namibian government gave me a medallion and they also gave me documents (saying) where I had contributed ... above and beyond what anybody else in the world had ever done to help save the black rhino.”
The billionaire Texas hunter paid hundreds of thousands of dollars at the Dallas Safari Club's auction for the permit to hunt the black rhino in Namibia, and now wants to import the completed trophy to the US.
However, animal rights groups have requested the American government to block Harber's request.
The environment and tourism ministry, together with the Dallas Safari Club Foundation and Conservation Force, auctioned off the hunt of the rhino in December 2016 for US$275 000. The 81-year-old Harber reportedly shot the rhino on 27 February last year at the Veronica Game Lodge, operated by ARU Game Lodges in Namibia.
He has now applied to import the trophy from Namibia into the US.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service has opened a 30-day comment period on this import application, seeking input from the public. The comment period will close on 5 February and hundreds of comments have already streamed in urging the agency to deny the application.
The Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International issued a joint-statement calling on the US Fish and Wildlife Service to deny the application and any other import permit applications to hunters who want to kill and import trophies of black rhinos.
Masha Kalinina, international trade policy specialist at Humane Society International, said: “We call on the US Fish and Wildlife Service to support the conservation of critically endangered black rhinos by keeping them alive, and not permitting trophy hunters to kill them and import gruesome 'prizes' into the United States. Allowing trophy hunters to kill black rhinos will take a severe toll on their populations, already under immense pressure from poaching.”
In an interview with the Herald Democrat, a daily newspaper in Texas, Harber said the rhino he killed was an ageing male who had been kicked out of his herd and had attacked other black rhinos.
“He had turned into a rogue rhino and the Namibian game department had documented that he had killed two females and three babies,” Harber said. “But they had no money to move him off by himself somewhere. They're very poor.
“I didn't want that permit. I knew there was going to be a lot of controversy about it, but I did that to save the black rhino,” Harber is quoted as saying.
This is not the first time that a Namibian black rhino hunt auctioned to a Texas hunter has been shrouded in controversy.
Texas hunter Corey Knowlton in 2014 bought a black rhino hunt to Namibia for US$350 000 (N$4.4 million) at the Dallas Safari Club-sponsored auction but faced a storm of fierce criticism from animal rights campaigners and wildlife groups.
When Knowlton was revealed as the winner of the controversial auction, he received so many death threats that local law enforcement and the Federal Bureau Investigation had to step in to keep him safe.
He eventually came to Namibia in 2015 to hunt the rhino, but faced a heavy backlash from animal right groups who even started litigation to stop the import of the rhino trophy.
However, the US Fish and Wildlife Service later announced that based on extensive assessments of the conservation and management programmes of black rhinos in Namibia that his import permit was approved.
The agency said the black rhino hunt was consistent with the conservation strategy of Namibia and generated a huge amount of money for wildlife conservation, anti-poaching efforts and community development programmes in Namibia.
The ministry of environment was approached for comment but did not respond by the time of going to press.
ELLANIE SMIT
“Now, in Namibia, I am a national hero,” Lacy Harber, 81, said. “The Namibian government gave me a medallion and they also gave me documents (saying) where I had contributed ... above and beyond what anybody else in the world had ever done to help save the black rhino.”
The billionaire Texas hunter paid hundreds of thousands of dollars at the Dallas Safari Club's auction for the permit to hunt the black rhino in Namibia, and now wants to import the completed trophy to the US.
However, animal rights groups have requested the American government to block Harber's request.
The environment and tourism ministry, together with the Dallas Safari Club Foundation and Conservation Force, auctioned off the hunt of the rhino in December 2016 for US$275 000. The 81-year-old Harber reportedly shot the rhino on 27 February last year at the Veronica Game Lodge, operated by ARU Game Lodges in Namibia.
He has now applied to import the trophy from Namibia into the US.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service has opened a 30-day comment period on this import application, seeking input from the public. The comment period will close on 5 February and hundreds of comments have already streamed in urging the agency to deny the application.
The Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International issued a joint-statement calling on the US Fish and Wildlife Service to deny the application and any other import permit applications to hunters who want to kill and import trophies of black rhinos.
Masha Kalinina, international trade policy specialist at Humane Society International, said: “We call on the US Fish and Wildlife Service to support the conservation of critically endangered black rhinos by keeping them alive, and not permitting trophy hunters to kill them and import gruesome 'prizes' into the United States. Allowing trophy hunters to kill black rhinos will take a severe toll on their populations, already under immense pressure from poaching.”
In an interview with the Herald Democrat, a daily newspaper in Texas, Harber said the rhino he killed was an ageing male who had been kicked out of his herd and had attacked other black rhinos.
“He had turned into a rogue rhino and the Namibian game department had documented that he had killed two females and three babies,” Harber said. “But they had no money to move him off by himself somewhere. They're very poor.
“I didn't want that permit. I knew there was going to be a lot of controversy about it, but I did that to save the black rhino,” Harber is quoted as saying.
This is not the first time that a Namibian black rhino hunt auctioned to a Texas hunter has been shrouded in controversy.
Texas hunter Corey Knowlton in 2014 bought a black rhino hunt to Namibia for US$350 000 (N$4.4 million) at the Dallas Safari Club-sponsored auction but faced a storm of fierce criticism from animal rights campaigners and wildlife groups.
When Knowlton was revealed as the winner of the controversial auction, he received so many death threats that local law enforcement and the Federal Bureau Investigation had to step in to keep him safe.
He eventually came to Namibia in 2015 to hunt the rhino, but faced a heavy backlash from animal right groups who even started litigation to stop the import of the rhino trophy.
However, the US Fish and Wildlife Service later announced that based on extensive assessments of the conservation and management programmes of black rhinos in Namibia that his import permit was approved.
The agency said the black rhino hunt was consistent with the conservation strategy of Namibia and generated a huge amount of money for wildlife conservation, anti-poaching efforts and community development programmes in Namibia.
The ministry of environment was approached for comment but did not respond by the time of going to press.
ELLANIE SMIT
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