(CN) More hunters have game in their sights

[Guest guest]

More hunters have game in their sights

By Wang Zhuoqiong

China Daily

2006-08-10

 

When he was a little boy, Guo Wei spent his days on

horseback, chasing sheep or deer with his father near

his hometown in Northwest China's Qinghai Province.

 

Thirty years later, Guo, 40, is preparing to go

hunting again.

 

" I had earlier applied to hunt with my clients at

designated parks but was rejected, " said Guo, the

manager of an investment company in Chengdu, capital

of Southwest China's Sichuan Province.

 

Now he is optimistic: At the end of this month, Guo

hopes to go hunting at Dulan International Park in

Qinghai, where for the past two decades only foreign

hunters have been allowed.

 

Dulan will launch its domestic business as soon as it

receives permits, according to park manager Da Shelin.

 

 

Guo is just one of China's growing number of

businessmen who are interested in hunting,

 

" When people get rich, they want luxury sports, such

as golf, " Da said. " The difference between golfing and

hunting is that the latter is more adventurous. It

offers a sense of thrill and helps urban dwellers to

strive to get what they want. "

 

Domestic travel agencies are eyeing the potential

market for the high-end sport. " I've had calls from

travel agents every day who have Chinese businessmen

lining up to go hunting, " Da said.

 

Citing Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong

Province, as an example, Da said at least 200 top

businessmen have inquired about hunting services.

 

" Eventually, hunting will become something like

golfing. Hunting club members are people with money

who go hunting for exercise or as a way to meet

friends. "

 

Hunting has received qualified government support. To

facilitate hunting areas and encourage more domestic

hunters, the China Wildlife Conservation Association,

an arm of the State Administration of Forestry (MOF),

has called for the launch of a national hunting club

by the end of this year.

 

" A national hunting club or a commission would work to

further regulate the market, enhance relevant laws and

co-ordinate between hunting areas in remote places and

customers in the east coast, " said Cao Liang, director

of the China Wildlife Conservation Association.

 

However, ecologists are unimpressed, due to concerns

over lack of monitoring and enforcement systems.

 

" Any hunting activities must be carried out with the

precondition that wildlife numbers in the park are

monitored by experts, " said Lu Zhi, world-renownd

panda expert and conservationist who teaches at the

department of life science at Peking University.

 

" But I doubt China has enough people who can do this, "

she said.

 

What is more, the country's environment is continuing

to deteriorate.

 

Despite protection efforts in recent years, Lu

continued, the number of wild animals is still too

low.

 

" Currently China has no single place where you can go

hunting without concerns over protection of the

environment and animals. I would suggest that local

governments do not give the green light easily, " she

said.

 

When it comes to law enforcement, the professor was

very worried.

 

" Hunting in China is not a mature concept yet. When

hunters raise their guns and take aim, it is hard to

guarantee that the targets are not females or young

species. "

 

At the same time, government officials and other

experts are looking at hunting as something that can

actually help wildlife conservation, as well as

benefit the local economy.

 

" Hunting is not poaching. Rather, it can be a form of

protection, " said Jiang Zhigang, a researcher at the

Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of

Sciences who in 2006 received a Whitley Award, a

British award for outstanding nature conservationists.

 

 

Jiang said that although nature has its own ways to

control wildlife numbers, such as hunger, migration

and disease, they are negative measures. Human

intervention can be a better way to balance natural

resources.

 

" Human beings need family planning to a certain

extent, so do fast-growing animal populations, " he

said.

 

Jiang said the key is what to kill. After decades of

hunting being banned, some wildlife species in China

have bred too much, such as boars and wild rabbits,

which, reports say, destroys crops and hurts humans.

 

What is more, only targeting old males won't affect

the reproduction of the species, Jiang added.

 

Instead of damaging the species, well-planned hunting

will single out weak animals, improve survival rates,

reduce the spread of disease and lead to sustainable

development, he said.

 

Apart from contributing to the natural habitat,

hunting will bring profits to the local economy and

raise awareness of wildlife conservation among local

farmers, said Cao Liang, the director.

 

For instance, in western China's Gansu Province, an

argali is a type of wild sheep poached by farmers in

the mountains. They sell it for about US$40, but an

international hunter would pay more than US$30,000 for

it, Cao said.

 

" The money earned from international hunters has been

partly used on local wildlife conservation and partly

on the local economy, " Cao said. " Farmers are aware of

the wildlife's economic value and this reduces

poaching, "

 

Asked how hunting could be supervised, Da Shelin,

manager of Dulan, said all hunting parks are asked to

employ experts to observe and analyse the distribution

and condition of wildlife.

 

Park evaluations will be the responsibility of the

State Forestry Administration (SFA), which issues

hunting quotas. For example, a park may have a limit

of 10 sheep, 20 boars or 100 wild rabbits that can be

killed in a year.

 

When the first international hunting area was set up

in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province in 1985,

things were very different.

 

" It was painstaking at that time to persuade people

who didn't want foreigners killing their animals, "

recalled Wang Wei, director of the wildlife division

of the SFA, who introduced trophy hunting to China

with Chinese American hunter Lit Ng.

 

But two decades later, China has become one of the

favourite destinations for foreign hunters.

 

Last spring and autumn, about 150 international

hunters from countries including the United States,

Spain and Mexico spent nearly US$4 million hunting at

about 30 international hunting parks located mostly in

northeast, north and southwest China.

 

Hunting in China is still a complicated procedure for

foreigners. Using foreign hunting agencies, they have

to contact one of five government-authorised hunting

agencies in China to arrange their trips, hire

interpreters, look for guides and send trophy samples

back when they finish.

 

In addition, the agency will help hunters get permits

from the SFA concerning where, when and what they can

hunt. Hunters can bring their rifles with permission

from the Ministry of Public Security.

 

What makes the procedure worthwhile is the wildlife

diversity. " Of 15 subspecies of argali in the world,

China has 11, " said Cao Liang. " Some wild animals

species are only seen in China. "

 

For instance, with its plentiful wildlife and 54,000

hectares, Dulan International Hunting Park is a

paradise for hunters.

 

" Our blue sheep are the most precious, " said Da, head

of the park. " It is the world largest blue sheep with

the biggest horns. "

 

International hunters are mostly wealthy. " They spend

on average US$10,000 on a single trip, " said Lit Ng,

who now lives in California.

 

" Hunters come from all walks of life. Most big-time

hunters are people with money. They are doctors,

engineers, politicians, businessmen and lawyers. "

 

Asked whether it is worth spending thousands of

dollars, travelling long distances to sleep in shabby

tents or riding on rainy days to hunt a sheep, Ng said

the enjoyment lies in the hunter's love of a

challenge.

 

" In hunting, everything is tough, " Ng said. " The

harder it is, the more they like it. "

 

(China Daily 08/10/2006 page1)

 

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2006-08/10/content_661154.htm

 

 

 

Send instant messages to your online friends http://au.messenger.