Rhino trophy hunt ban ruling milestone for Namibia: minister

Namibia's Environment Minister Pohamba Shifeta has described the recent U.S. court ruling on rhino trophy ban as a milestone for the country.

Judge Amy Berman ruled Monday against two conservation groups - the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force and the Friends of Animals - that had sought an import ban on rhino hunt trophies into the U.S..

The court bid by the conservation groups was brought about by the hunting permits given to the American hunter Corey Knowlton and Michael Luzich that allowed them to import hunting trophies into the U.S.

Luzich got his permit for 200,000 U.S. dollars in 2013 and killed the black rhino in Jan. 2014, while Knowlton, who got his permit for 350,000 U.S. dollars killed another black rhino in May 2015.

From the two trophy hunting expeditions, the Namibian government grossed 550, 000 U.S. dollars that went to the Game Products Trust Fund.

Addressing a press conference in Windhoek Thursday, environment minister Pohamba Shifeta said the ruling will go a long way in contributing positively to conservation.

Shifeta also said the ruling shows that Namibia was on the right path with conservation methodologies.

According to Shifeta, had the ban been enforced, Namibia's 83 registered conservancies whose membership runs into thousands would have been exposed to poverty and forced into poaching.

He said Namibia's conservation method has seen wildlife populations growing, and was the reason why the country won the 2012 Markhor Award for outstanding conservation performance.

"Our story has been hailed across the globe as it also seeks to empower Namibian citizens, particularly those in rural areas through employment creation and income generation activities," he said. Enditem