The Community Leaders Network (CLN), a coalition of over 50 African rural community organisations including nine representatives from southern African countries, have sent a letter to Germany’s Green Party (Alliance 90/The Greens) which opposes the party’s plans to introduce a ban on “trophy hunting.”

The letter comes as a direct response to The Greens’ party manifesto which was published last November. The manifesto stated that there was a need to stop both “trophy hunting” and wildlife trade as a way to protect wildlife species.

The manifesto further fuelled the popularity of the “ban trophy hunting” movement within Germany, something which had already gained significant traction prior to that point in time. This echoes the trend we have seen around the world with such movements gaining much notoriety in recent years.

Earlier this week, CLN sent the letter to The Greens outlining the concerns they had with their plans. In particular, the letter criticised the neo-colonialist implications of the manifesto:

“Your party’s call to end trophy hunting and wildlife trade harms biodiversity conservation and tramples on the right of our communities to manage and use their own natural resources, on which their livelihoods depend.”

Representatives from Namibia, Tanzania, Botswana and South Africa were among the signatories of the letter in question.

These countries, among countless others, currently engage in the sustainable use of wildlife resources as part of their national wildlife management policies, using it as a tool to generate benefits for wildlife conservation and rural communities.

This letter is not the only instance of criticism towards The Greens on this issue either. The German CIC Delegation and Deutscher Jagdverband jointly published an open letter to the party, warning them that an end to regulated hunting would only cause harm to rural communities and the protection of wildlife species.

The CIC is in full support of CLN and the messages contained in in their letter to The Greens. In order to support wildlife conservation and human well-being, it is vital that people’s right to manage their own wildlife resources is also protected.

Traditionally, The Greens have always placed the protection of human rights and the environment high on their agenda. It therefore seems quite paradoxical that, in their party manifesto, they would openly and overtly seek to violate human rights and risk the loss of biodiversity. One must ask the question on whether this is really what they intend to do or whether it is merely a ploy to win support at whatever cost.