HOW MANY LEOPARDS ARE THERE in Namibia?

Dr Louisa Richmond-Coggan completed a national leopard study in March 2019 after 18 months of collating and analysing data from all over Namibia. This study was treated with extreme prejudice on social media even before it began, and detractors continue to question it now that the final report is published. The question is, are these criticisms valid? Is there any evidence that this study tried to overestimate leopard numbers or otherwise misrepresent the results to appease the hunting industry?

Gail Potgieter

Understanding the science, countering the critics The most recent and detailed criticism (read: long rant on Facebook) comes from Dr Pieter Kat who runs a charity called Lion Aid. As a biologist who has specialised in large carnivore conservation, I found Dr Kat’s argument to be a breath-taking mixture of cherry picking, totally misunderstanding the study and extreme bias against hunting. I will focus on his main arguments against the report and explain where he goes wrong. His first issue is that three of the 14 organisations that helped fund the project are hunting clubs and associations (Namibia Professional Hunting Association (NAPHA), Safari Club International and Dallas Safari Club). Most of the earliest critics of this project decided that the study’s results were invalid before it even started, simply by…

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Huntinamibia (Digital) - 1 Issue, Huntinamibia 2020 (English)

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