QATAR AIRWAYS IMPOSES TOTAL BAN ON ALL HUNTING TROPHIES
(Posted 07th August 2015)
If the killing of Cecil the Lion King has brought about one positive development it is the growing global awareness and rising tide against hunting of big game and the number of airlines now making firm commitment to refuse the transport of hunting trophies.
Qatar Airways yesterday joined fellow airlines when they issued the following statement:
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Qatar Airways has today announced the extension of its existing embargo on transporting hunting trophies to encompass all species identified by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) of Wild Fauna and Flora.
The airline’s existing ban on carrying CITES I hunting trophies has been extended to include all species included in the CITES I, II and III.
“As one of the world’s leading airlines, serving customers across six continents, Qatar Airways recognises its responsibility to society, our communities and the environment. An absolute ban on all hunting trophies further extends our commitment to supporting the protection of endangered species and the elimination of illegal trading of animal products,” said Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency, Mr. Akbar Al Baker.
More than 35,000 species (over 5,000 animals and 30,000 plants) are protected under the CITES, which includes, but is not limited to, great apes, the giant panda, many South American monkeys, cheetahs, lions, leopards, tigers, elephants and rhinoceroses.
The CITES is an international agreement between governments, which aims to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. There are three CITES appendices, under which species are classified, according to how threatened they are by international trade.
CITES I includes species threatened with extinction. CITES II includes species for which trade must be controlled in order to avoid behaviour incompatible with their survival. CITES III contains species that are protected in at least one country, which has asked other CITES parties for assistance in controlling the trade. This category covers species such as the two-toed sloth, African civet and the alligator snapping turtle.
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Qatar Airways operates an extensive network of flights from Hamad International Airport, their hub in Qatar, into Africa and in East Africa alone serves Entebbe, Kigali, Nairobi, Kilimanjaro, Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar.
Refusal by airlines such as Qatar Airways to uplift hunting trophies is expected to put a serious dent into the hunting business where it is still allowed as hunters, when unable to take their trophies home with them, are unlikely to spend tens of thousands of US Dollars for a hunt they cannot brag about and show off the trophies at home to their equally bloodthirsty buddies.
In Kenya hunting is prohibited, as it is in Rwanda and Uganda, though Tanzania still allows hunting as do several other countries in Southern Africa. Pressure is now growing on all of them to suspend and eventually ban the hunt on big game, including all predator cats. Bouquets for Qatar Airways and barbs for those countries who continue to peddle the notion that such hunts in any way, shape or format support conservation and under such dubious reasons continue to sell hunting permits.
