Hunting in Namibia: An Overview

Namibia is a politically stable country, and an easy, safe and affordable destination for great plains-game and big-five hunting safaris. It attracts more than 5 000 international hunters a year, and is a favourite for family groups, first-time hunters and African hunting veterans alike. Most of the hunting in Namibia takes place on the private game ranches found throughout the country.

The habitat of the hunting areas varies from dense thorny savannah to vast semi-desert plains. The relatively high elevation of the central plains where many of the prime hunting areas are located can be physically challenging for the less fit.

Plains game, most of which is hunted in central and southerly parts of the country, includes oryx, Cape eland, greater kudu, blue wildebeest, black wildebeest, blesbok, impala, steenbok, klipspringer, springbok and warthog.

When it comes to the big five, leopard are also found mainly in the south and central regions, while lion, buffalo, elephant and rhino are restricted largely to the north; all four are hunted on a limited basis.

• Rifle sight-in will be done before the start of your hunting safari at our well equipped shooting range.
• The trophy-hunting season in Namibia opens on 1 February and closes on 30 November.
• No hunting is allowed during December and January.
• Trophy hunting may take place from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset during the hunting season.
• There’s no regulation controlling the number of days a hunting safari may last.
• It’s illegal to hunt for trophies at night and/or with an artificial light.
• It’s illegal to hunt with dogs.
• All trophy hunting must be done in line with Fair Chase principles.

• Every sport hunter should pursue an animal only by engaging in a fair chase of the quarry.
• Fair chase is defined as the pursuit of a roaming animal possessed of the natural behavioural inclination to escape from the hunter and fully free to do so.
• The animal is to be hunted without an artificial light source, and not from a motorised mode of transportation.
• No hunter must take female animals with dependent young.
• A sport-hunted animal should exist as a naturally interacting member of a sustainable wild population located in an area large enough for it to breed and forage or hunt freely.
• Hunted animals should be sustained within a natural state of balance between forage, predators and prey.

A maximum of two firearms per hunting client is allowed. We suggest 60-80 rounds of calibre-specific ammunition per firearm.

• Smallest calibre: .270
• Minimum energy (muzzle velocity):
• For small game (springbok, duiker) 1 350 J
• For medium game (hartebeest, wildebeest, kudu, gemsbok, eland) 2 700 J
• For large game (buffalo, elephant, rhino) 5 400 J

For plains game, we recommend 30-06 Springfield, .300 and .338 Winchester Magnum, and .375 calibres. (The smallest recommended calibre is .270.) A hard copper bullet like the Hornady GMX is ideal.

Bow-hunting is permitted in Namibia, and no import permit for the weapon is required.

• For small game 25ft/lb
• For medium game 40ft/lb
• For large game 65ft/lb

• Automatic and semi-automatic weapons (AK47 and other military hardware)
• Handguns
• Crossbows
• Solid-point cartridges

Our professional hunters are registered with both the Namibian Ministry of Environment & Tourism (MET) and the Namibian Tourism Board (NTB). They, on behalf of Omujeve Hunting Safaris, will organise your trophy-hunting and export permits. They will need a certified copy of your passport in order to do this.

• A separate permit for each individual hunting client is issued by the Namibian MET prior to the start of the hunt.
• A maximum of two trophies per species may be harvested, per hunting client per permit.
• Additional special permits with additional conditions are required for hunting large cats (leopard, cheetah and lion).
• Permits can be downloaded from http://www.met.gov.na/Pages/Permits.aspx

• Ensure the airline you’re booked on is ‘firearms friendly’, and will carry your firearms and ammunition. (Some airlines don’t.) Ask about any application or permission forms that have to be filled in.
• Anyone entering Namibia with rifle/s must complete an application form for each firearm in their possession. This will be issued on arrival and you must hand it in, together with the firearms and cartridges, at the police firearm customs checkpoint.
• Firearms must be packed separately, unloaded, in a sturdy, lockable case. Ammunition must be in its original packaging, in a sturdy, lockable case, and it must be checked in with your luggage.
• 100 rounds of ammunition are permitted per firearm you’re carrying with you (it must match the rifle’s specific calibre), with the exception of black-powder and/or percussion caps (see below).
• While it is legal to hunt with black-power-cartridge rifles in Namibia, you may not import black-powder and/or percussion caps into the country, as they are extremely volatile and flammable. This ammunition can, however, be bought in Namibia.
• Ensure that your country of origin allows the importation of your target-species trophy.

• Do take out full insurance on all your firearms before travelling.
• Do clearly label all firearms cases (and all other luggage) with your name and a contact phone number.
• If you’re not flying directly to Namibia (if you’re travelling via another destination, or have a layover elsewhere), enquire about booking firearms and ammunition straight through to Namibia. If this isn’t possible, leave your checked luggage and locked firearm case/s at the airport overnight. Label them with a clearly visible ‘in transit’ tag.