A. Species
Scientific name: Panthera pardus
Common name(s): Leopard
Global IUCN Red List Threat Status: Vulnerable
B. Location of use
Geographic location(s):
- Namibia
Country/Region:
C. Scale of assessment
Scale of assessment: National Level
Name/Details of location: Namibia
D. Timescale of use
Start Year: 2004
End Year: 2017
E. Information about the use
How is the wild species sourced?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat
Type of use: Extractive
Practice of use: Hunting and/or Trapping of live terrestrial and aerial animals
Lethal or non-lethal: Lethal
Does this use involve take/extraction of: The whole entire organism
Purpose(s) of end use: Collection/display, Recreation and Also killed in response to instances of human-wildlife conflict.
Motivation of use: Recreational and Population/Area Management
Is this use legal or illegal?: Legal under national law
F. Information about the Users
Which stakeholder(s) does the record primarily focus on?: Local people and Non-local External
G. Information about the sustainability of use
Is there evidence that the use is having an impact on the target species?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an ecological perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable
Details of assessment carried out: CITES NDF Report
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: The current international trade in hunting trophies, with an annual quota of 250, does not pose any risk to the survival of this species in Namibia. The leopard population in Namibia is currently stable and increasing, and widely distributed throughout the country, particularly in the central and northern parts of Namibia. This is supported by the recent National leopard survey which estimated the Namibian leopard population to be 14 154 (95% CI= 13,356 - 24,706). This estimate is thought to be 1.5 to 2.8 times higher than the previous estimates presented in 2003. Moreover, trophy quality analysis indicates a positive increase in the annual mean skull size over the fourteen years.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an economic perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable
Details of assessment carried out: CITES NDF Report
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Leopard hunting is one of the main-stay of safari hunting in Namibia; attracts tourists and hunters which in turn brings income to the landholders on both freehold and conservancies. Communal conservancies have been established throughout the country and they are currently fully managed by the local communities. This level of off-take, as regulated under quota, is not detrimental to the leopard population size.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a social perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable
Details of assessment carried out: CITES NDF Report
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Revenue generated from trophy hunting within the conservancies is directly used by the local communities for their own benefit. Moreover, many disadvantaged local communities in Namibia have benefited from trophy hunting because some trophy hunting operators have built schools, clinics, tourism facilities, and erected communal structures such as community halls. Moreover, hunting Safari Operators also creates employment, financial support to anti-poaching, provision of meat to locally disadvantaged communities.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a human health perspective been recorded?: not recorded
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an animal health/welfare perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable
Details of assessment carried out: CITES NDF Report
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Hunting of female leopards and hunting with dogs was outlawed in 2009, while limits were set on the number of leopards an outfitter may hunt.
Recommendations provided in the record to maintain or enhance the sustainability of the use of the target species
To assess the impact of problem animals and rate of removal. To update leopard density and distribution across Namibia. To review of the yearly trophy hunting permits.
Record source
Information about the record source: scientific_pub
Date of publication/issue/production: 2019-01-01T00:00:00+0000
Source Reference(s):
Regular and special reports. Appendix-I species subject to export quotas: Leopard export quota review - Namibia.
[No authors as listed on this CITES NDF Report]
Date of record entry: 2023-09-14