MEATING HUMAN DEMAND
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This article originally appeared in the second edition of ThisWildEarth. See all our publications here.
By Otch Otto and René Laing with technical assistance by Dr Sabine Hoppe-Speer
The Namibian government announced culling 723 animals late in 2024, 1% of the national wildlife population, due to the worst drought in a decade. However, this highlights a bigger problem, including stock theft and game poaching to produce kapana, a traditional informal trade in sundried meat. A form of government-granted venison may be seen as an extension of kapana culture.
Kapana involves hunting and setting traps. The meat is processed in the field, cut into strips and sundried before reaching informal street vendors. Due to demand and the historic free supply of natural resources, it is a large-scale problem. The lack of refrigeration and the high cost of meat makes kapana a cheap protein source.
Effect of Demand
Population growth and poverty created massive kapana demand, resulting in hunting atrocities.
· Unsustainable hunting has decimated hundreds of oryx. Hunting permits, valid for six months, are often recycled or forged.
· Hunters now target parks, conservation areas, and farms.
· Dogs, donkeys, and horses are illegally slaughtered, mixed with beef and venison, and blanched in oil to disguise origin.
Impact of legislation
· Kapana remains unregulated but tolerated.
· The Namibian Police’s (Nampol) mandate includes counter-poaching and stock theft. Resources are stretched and some officials are involved.
· Poaching threatens farming and could hurt beef exports.
Namibia’s Agriculture Union reports 46 cattle lost monthly to poachers with mammal losses possibly reaching 100 per month.
The dilemma
· Strategic: Namibia exports meat globally. Kapana risks contamination and poses domestic health issues.
· Operational: Farmers spend half their productive time and funds fighting poachers.
· Tactical: Enforcement is limited and raids can’t trace illegally obtained meat to the source.
The Kapama Dilemma
Raw material theft pushes cattle and wildlife farming, already strained by years of drought, towards collapse. This is a politically sensitive issue, but could threaten commercial farming and the safari industry, worsening poverty. Courts apply light sentences out of sympathy for the poor.
Balancing the Scale
The government says it is feeding a starving population with animals that would die anyway. Critics call the decision unscientific, but culling rarely aligns in the Environmental Asset Management environment.
Kapana syndicates may suffer if 600 tonnes of legal meat flood the market. This pragmatic move may finally push the kapana issue towards better regulation.
Southern Africa is home to 200 000 elephants, but Namibia does not face a dramatic overload. Farming communities on the Etosha-Khorixas migration route are calling for solutions. Options include relocating excess dessert elephant to Angola’s Iona National Park or culling. Buying the farms on the route of elephant migration patterns will eventually push the cattle industry out. The 2018 Iona-Skeleton Transfrontier Park agreement may offer hope, at least until numbers rise again.
Poaching by numbers
According to Nampol:
· Domestic animal poaching nearly doubled, with 1 489 cases in 2019 and 2 786 in 2023.*
· If wildlife trends mirror livestock, official wildlife poaching figures may be underestimated.**
· Over five years, N$198 300 000 million in livestock was poached. Recovered value: N$69 900 000 (29-41%).
*Iincluded 4 767 cattle and 6 346 sheep and goats, with 1 417 cattle, and 2 134 sheep/goats recoverd. Wildlife recoveries remain negligible.
**Compare the wildlife counts, particularly oryx, in Etosha and the migration areas to the southwest of Kamanjab between 2014 and 2024.
Wildlife crime records: 2 037 cases, 4 406 arrests, 22 234 illegal wildlife items seized, and 351 firearms confiscated (despite snares being the main killer). As a result, 2 157 court cases led to 1 382 convictions, a 31% conviction rate.
Key regional hotspots:
· Otjozondjupa (268 cases)
· Zambezi (254)
· Khomas (230)
· Kunene (228)
· Omaheke (203)
Over 90% of suspects were Namibians. Others were Zambians (4%), Angolans (3.8%), Asians and Europeans.
The government’s response to combat poaching is limited compared to the scale of cruelty and environmental damage. Stronger counter-poaching measures are overdue.
Namibia has made tough choices but ultimately made a decision to address immediate challenges. Choosing action over sympathy reflects a commitment to managing their country effectively, a commendable stance in an environment often rife with crisis and criticism.
In crisis management, today’ you manage a crisis, tomorrow you may be accused of over-managing, and next year, the spotlight shifts to issues such as overpopulation. This will shape future Environmental Asset Management strategies, providing an opportunity to refine and implement scientific approaches to address these challenges.
ThisWildEarth
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