BAN WILDLIFE HUNTING AT LAKE NASSER

Devastating damage to Lake Nasser’s ecosystem is being caused by foreign hunters and a few local fishermen. The knock on effect is the loss of potential employment for Egyptians in the field of sustainable eco-tourism which can also provide Egypt with valuable tourism revenue. The decline of wildlife is due to illegal hunting and existing regulations not being enforced.

Lake Nasser is an important staging point for migrant and over-wintering birds. During the autumn and spring months millions of birds pass across the lake following the Nile River on their annual migrations between the continents of Europe, Asia and Africa. Many atrocities are committed by hunters from the Gulf States but the worst offenders are hunters from Malta and Cyprus who literally shoot at anything that moves, protected or not. Witnesses have seen flocks of flamingos being shot down and hunters carrying garbage bags full of dead birds.

A massive decline continues in the crocodile population on the lake due to hunters and local fishermen who hunt croc’s because they can make money from them. Most of the local fishermen, more or less, ignore the crocks and live alongside them peacefully; keeping out of each other’s way. The young crocks are collected by fishermen and sold as live “pets” in Aswan and the rest of Egypt. Adult crocodiles are also targeted using cruel hooks attached by a strong line to a floating plastic jerry can and baited with Nile perch.

The Egyptian laws which make it a crime to sell protected animals must be enforced and this illegal trade must be stopped reducing the possibility of financial reward the fishermen will quickly lose interest in decimating the crocodile population.