I was browsing through material on the
internet last week and came across an interesting page which was displaying an
advert for a professional hunter
Tanzania and surrounding areas. This caught my attention because just the
week before I had met a man who belonged to a group called TPHA which stands
for the Tanzania Professional Hunters Association. This is body of people who
are concerned with the ethics and practices of hunting Tanzania wildlife and was set up on 28th April
1966. Before this there was the EAPHA which stood for East African Professional
Hunters Association and was set up on 12th April 1934.
The attraction of hunting goes deep in
certain cultures and it is considered to be an indication of manliness. In the
early days of man it was the only way for the population to survive and
therefore it was the duty of every able bodied man, and even some women, to be
adept at hunting. It was necessary to be able to track down and run down the animals
in order to eat and the shins were also used to keep them warm.
As we progressed further up the
evolutionary ladder, we found other means of finding food such as the growing
of crops and the gathering of the bounties of the wild as well hunting in the
waters for tasty fish. Once we had progressed even further we found that we no
longer had to hunt in order to survive and so started the trend of hunting for
pleasure.
This type of hunting is mainly for the
benefit of the well off who see hunting as pastime in which they can combine
the attractions of hunting with a vacation. You may see no attraction in
hunting, but to some people it is addictive, no matter which type of hunting it
is. There is bird hunting and bow hunting which is seeing a comeback these
days. Africa has always been associated with big game hunting and safaris and
there is a plenty of variety to choose from, from zebras to wildebeest.
The difference between a general hunter and
a professional hunter Tanzania or
elsewhere is that the latter hunts as a matter of earning a living and is
subject to different rules and regulations, while the general hunter enjoys the
pleasure of the chase and the kill of the prey.
Hunting was popular all over the world many
years ago and there have arisen so many stories and legends based on hunters,
hunting and tracking. Some of these show hunting in a good light whereas others
show the more negative side of hunting such as exploitation and the hunting to
extinction of certain species. There is a certain romance attached to hunting Tanzania way and other African
countries which ensures that there is always a market for a professional hunter, Tanzania being the
destination for so many tourists and businesses. Just make sure that they are
ethical and competent and will follow the rules.