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Professional hunters to host auction and dinner for anti-poacher action

Professional hunters to host auction and dinner for anti-poacher action

The Namibia Professional Hunting Association announced this week it will host another fundraising dinner and auction for the Hunters United Against Poaching Trust.

The dinner is scheduled for 31 August 2017 at the Windhoek Country Club Resort. The auction, launched a week prior at the Franco Namibian Cultural Centre, offers various hunts, works of art, exquisite jewellery specifically designed for the dinner evening, selected wines, nature excursions and similar recreational activities. The auction and fundraising dinner are supported by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism. The minister, Hon Pohamba Shifeta will launch the auction followed by a live performance by Namibian legend Elemotho.

The proceeds from the combined events are earmarked for further anti-poaching actions and for a comprehensive field study of the Namibian leopard population.

The auction will be hosted online at www.huaptrust.com by Auction Experts from Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

The project is supported by Mr Gé Pellini, a world class sculptor from France, who will create a life-size rhino from exquisite Namibian marble donated by Mark Hoffmann. Additional sponsors include the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, the Franco Namibian Cultural Centre, the Save the Rhino Trust, First National Bank of Namibia, Namibian singers Lize Ehlers and Shannon Grellmann, various outfitters from Namibia, Sweden and Spain, Gobabis Toyota, Air Namibia, various guesthouses and restaurants, car rental and marketing companies, schools and cultural centres and a large number of private individuals.

Announcing the new fundraising drive, the Professional Hunting Association said this week “Since the inception of the NAPHA Hunters United Against Poaching (HUAP) programme, remarkable success has been achieved in combatting poaching incidents in hunting concessions throughout Namibia.”

“Our focus has been on prevention rather than conviction – we have used the expertise and funds at our disposal to finance monitoring on the ground as well as from the air. We have earned the trust and co-operation – the eyes, ears and boots on the ground of local communities in remote rural hunting and conservation areas. Through both visibility and the establishment of information sharing channels, we have been instrumental in preventing incidents of poaching” elaborated the association.

The hunting association added that it will raise funds for the Rebeus Fund, which is part of the Anti-Poaching Initiative. The Rebeus Fund provided financial assistance to Professional Hunters, Hunting Assistants, Trackers, Drivers and Skinners who are injured during the course of their duties. Contributions will be made to healthcare and disability coverage.

The first such auction and dinner hosted by the association in September 2015 raised an extraordinary N$2.7 million for conservation and anti-poaching activities.


Pictured: Trustees of the Hunters United Against Poaching Trust.
Top, from the left, Koos Pienaar, Colgar Sikopo, Abraham Malherbe and Danene van der Westhuyzen.
Bottom row, Greenwell Matongo, Felix Marnewecke and Falko Schwarz.


 

 

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