Namibia's major export earner is beef and mutton. As a result, most farmers there are ranchers. Cheetah numbers in Namibia are the highest in the world and far from endangered. Ranch owners are either beef/mutton ranchers or wildlife ranchers. Where they are cattle ranchers, then cheetah (and other predators like jackal, leopard, etc) are considered vermin. They are killed on site and persecuted. They have no value to the land owner because they are in the business of growing beef, etc and cheetah's kill their "crop" (i.e. calves). By law, they are allowed to destroy them on their land. There is no danger to the species as populations are healthy. Hence, there is no need to control this activity. In wildlife ranches where hunting occurs as a main business, cheetah hunting is very well controlled as is the hunting of any other specie. You need a license, paperwork, etc. You break the law and punishement is severe. Controlling authority is able to keep order. In actual fact, many cattle farmers are in touch with hunting operators all the time in case they have a "problem" cheetah that they can sell to the hunting operator on short notice for one of their clients. They get rid of the problem and earn some money to repay the loss caused by the killed calves, etc.

Bwanamich:

If they are still culling/shooting cheetahs in Namibia then they ought to be shot themselves! A well-known program in Namibia since the 1990's is the use of the Anatolian dogs. As puppies they are raised with the farmer's' flock of goat/sheep/cattle. Whenever a cheetah approaches the dog goes after them chasing the cheetah away. I have seen several television programs on this and it appears to work. (see cheetahs.org).

Why then aren't more of these farmers buying or breeding this breed of dog that can indeed help keep their flocks safe? If they know about it, and aren't taking advantage of something that would help, then the farmer should indeed be severely punished. If they don't know about it, then they should be taught that there is another way of controlling their flocks from being eaten by predators.

If I get the jist of the last part of your note, you're referring to "canned hunts" which are despicable and cowardly. Even I, a 66 year old woman" could shoot an animal fleeing from a cage. Doesn't take any guts or prowess to do that.

Jan,
On the contrary. Wildlife, including cheetah, on private land in Namibia, belongs to the land owner. If the land owner is a beef rancher, then cheetah are vermin to him and he may destroy them by law. How he does this is entirely up to him but the easiest way is poison, gin trap or shooting them. Now you must understand that cheetah are not endangered in Namibia. There is no risk to the countries population if farmers kill cheetahs on their private land!! If you are going to kill one you might as well let it earn some money, right? A farmer will call a hunting operator from his area and ask if they have a client willing to come and get rid of the problem. If they do, the hunting operator pays for a license to the wildlife body and on top of that pays the farmer a royalty. This money works 2 ways; part of it goes towards state conservation coffers and part of it goes towards compensating the farmer for the loss he incurred to his stock! This is NOT CANNED hunting! The cheetah is free and wild and may stay on the farm or move off. Success in hunting it IS NOT guaranteed!

Using dogs? A pack of dogs can easily run down a cheetah and kill it. And if they only chase it away, it will end up in the next ranch doing the same again. A cheetah that has ended up on a private ranch is often because that cheetah has been chased out of a territory by another as population numbers grow in a given area. It can't stay there. It is pushed out into peripheral land which may be a beef ranch. The damage a cheetah can do to beef stock (we're talking calves now ok) in a very short time is devastating in the eyes (and books) of a beef/mutton farmer.

Very interesting comments - We are glad to start getting complete views from across the board on all opinions. This is what we wanted to read and understand from all parties on bushdrums.

jan - yopu already got the point and there is not much to add!

bwanamich might be right that cheetahs are not endangered in nambia and therefore free to be killed by anybody incl. the farmland owner!
but this shows how short sighted hunters argue!

[color=olive]any american or european idiot who has got as little as 2000 € in its pocket can travel to nambia and shoot a cheetah! and this mighty idiot gets an advise from the game ranchers: keep some days for the cheetah hunt because we have to kill it when it comes to its playtree because cheetahs don't prey on anything which they have not killed themselves.
90 % of the namibian cheetahs live on farmland because their roaming area has been decreased by humans who just took the land for themselves!
e.g. etosha np was 9 times the size at the beginning of the 20th century!
if humans facilitate the cheetahs with the same rights the cheetahs would have been intitled to chase these farmers from their land! but cheetahs seemingly are more human than humans they just get their share by preying on the farmers goats insetad of stalking the farmer!

you see it doesn't make sense to argue with hunters! mostly they were born into hunter families and got brainwashed at an very early age in view to their goddess TROPHY means MONEY. and nothing would change their mind except regulations and laws!
as soon as there is an offer there will be a request - for sure! in case a country opens a gate to hunting - they will find to make as much use of it as possible- and even exceed!
pippa[/color]

Original von pippa
but this shows how short sighted hunters argue!

Sorry, but the "argument" is a law that has been introduced by the Government not by hunters. So, if you want to change something, you have to change the law and ban the killing of the animals by hunters and farmers. Otherwise the animal will still be killed, maybe in an even more cruel way like poisoning or traps!

Original von pippa
you see it doesn't make sense to argue with hunters! mostly they were born into hunter families and got brainwashed at an very early age in view to their goddess TROPHY means MONEY. and nothing would change their mind except regulations and laws!

Thank you