On the 4th April 2014 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a suspension on the importation of sport-hunted African elephant trophies taken in Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
The decision was taken without any prior warning, neither country was consulted beforehand nor was the sport-hunting community. This was despite recommendations in a memo to the director of the service from the chief, Division of Scientific Authority that “ early engagement with the sport-hunting community was needed to maintain positive relations and create opportunities for cooperative action to affect change”
The reasons given for the suspension included questionable management practices, a lack of effective law enforcement and weak governance.
In the case of Zimbabwe the service, by their own admission, used limited, unsubstantiated data as indicating a significant decline in the elephant population.
At present there is no African conservation issues more talked about than that of elephant and ivory. But why is this? Have we lost direction in dealing with the reality of day-to-day wildlife management? Is the US Fish and Wildlife service ban on the importation of sport-hunted ivory really helping the situation in Africa?
Are rural African communities allowed any say in how the wildlife resource is utilized? Is eco-imperialism the real force behind the resolutions that are foisted upon Africa and her inhabitants?
This documentary examines these questions and offers practical solutions to deal with the issues.