Namibia’s most famous elephant bull known as Voortrekker (“Pioneer”) to thousands of tourists was shot last week by a trophy hunter, ten years after he first escaped the hunter’s bullet.  The elephant was shot on a “problem elephant “permit, however it appears that this was false, as a letter from three communal conservancies opposing the hunt sent to the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) earlier in the week shows.

MET PRO Romeo Muyanda said “It was shot to generate funds for the affected communities. We had the elephant hunted as a trophy….”. So it appears that the life of a magnificent elephant, worth an incalculable amount as a tourist attraction was sacrificed for a mere N$120 000, much of which will go to the Professional hunter and in licence fees to MET, with little trickling down to the communities, and that to the wrong communities. With little or no real rainfall since 2014 and national elections looming later this year, the elephants appear to be paying the price