A total of 1,823 French hunters visited Namibia between 2015 and 2025, as the country’s hunting industry warns that proposed French restrictions on trophy imports could affect conservancy income, rural jobs and conservation funding.
The Namibia Professional Hunting Association (NAPHA) said available records show 230 French hunters visited Namibia in 2024, followed by 216 in 2025.
Over the 10-year period, French nationals exported 115 CITES-listed high-value trophies from Namibia in the categories covered by the available data. These comprised 60 cheetahs, 47 leopards and eight elephants, with no rhinoceros or crocodile trophies recorded.
NAPHA released the figures as France considers further restrictions on imports of legally acquired hunting trophies.
“According to the available Namibian data, 230 French trophy hunters visited Namibia in 2024 and 216 in 2025. Between 2015 and 2025, the available records account for 1,823 French hunters visiting Namibia,” NAPHA President Hannes Du Plessis said.
“Between 2015 and 2025, the supplied records show only 115 CITES-listed high-value trophies exported by French nationals in the categories provided: 60 cheetah, 47 leopard and eight elephant trophies. No rhinoceros or crocodile trophies were recorded in those figures.”
The association said French clients predominantly hunt common game species, arguing that a focus on CITES-listed and high-profile species does not reflect the wider contribution of French hunting tourism to Namibia.
In 2025, French clients hunted 126 oryx, 74 springbok, 67 warthog, 63 blue wildebeest, 47 kudu and 44 red hartebeest.
NAPHA said hunters targeting species such as leopard or cheetah often hunt several plains game species during the same safari, meaning restrictions on trophy imports could have consequences for the broader hunting tourism industry.
The association said spending by international hunting clients supports professional hunters, guides, trackers, skinners, camp and lodge workers and game guards, as well as businesses providing fuel, food, equipment, taxidermy, freight, accommodation and other services.
NAPHA warned that the potential impact could extend to Namibia’s communal conservancies, about 60 of which currently benefit from conservation hunting.
According to the association, conservation hunting generated N$48.99 million in direct cash income and in-kind benefits for communal conservancies in 2023.
During the same year, 57 conservation hunting concessions supported 165 full-time and 80 part-time or seasonal jobs.
A further 90,116 kilograms of game meat, valued at approximately N$2.43 million, was distributed to conservancy residents.
“In 2023, conservation hunting generated approximately N$48.99 million in direct cash income and in-kind benefits within communal conservancies. Fifty-seven conservation hunting concessions supported 165 full-time and 80 part-time or seasonal jobs,” Du Plessis said.
NAPHA said some communal conservancies operate in remote and arid parts of Namibia where photographic tourism may not provide an equivalent source of income.
The association argued that hunting and photographic tourism should therefore be viewed as complementary rather than interchangeable activities.
It warned that reduced hunting revenue could affect funding for wildlife monitoring, anti-poaching activities and human-wildlife conflict management.
NAPHA said it supports efforts to combat poaching, illegal wildlife trade and unsustainable wildlife use, but argued that additional import restrictions should demonstrate clear conservation benefits where hunting is legally authorised in Namibia and complies with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
The association called on the French government and legislators to consult Namibia and other African range states before imposing further restrictions and to assess the potential consequences for conservation and rural livelihoods.
