Rules and Regulations

Hunting rules and regulations as per Namibia professional hunting association

Essential information on hunting in Namibia

The Namibian Trophy Hunting season opens on February 1 and closes on November 30 of each year. Clients should ensure that they are booked and will be hunting with a registered Namibian operator, as well as a registered Namibian hunting professional.

The three classifications of hunting professionals are:

• Hunting guides
• Master hunting guides
• Professional hunters

Two specialist qualifications are:

• Big Game Professional Hunters - registered Namibian professional hunter who has passed the Big Game examination;
• Bow Hunting Professional Hunters - registered Namibian hunting professional with an additional bow-hunting qualification.

Hunting professionals should comply with all the Ministry of Environment & Tourism's (MET's) trophy-hunting regulations.

• Trophy hunting may be practised from half an hour before sunrise, until half an hour after sunset.
• Trophy hunting may take place only on properties where permission has been granted by the landowner.
• Properties where bow hunting is practised must be registered additionally with MET for bow hunting.

The following is required regarding permits for trophy hunting:

• Permits must be issued prior to the hunt commencing;
• A separate permit must be issued for each individual hunting client;
• An extra, special permit is required for the large cats (leopard, cheetah, lion).
• It contains an additional list of conditions;
• A permit must be completed in full by the hunting client and the hunting professional (wounded or lost animals must also be indicated on the permit);
• Permits are issued by the MET only
• A maximum of two trophies per species may be harvested, per hunting client, per permit.
• All trophy-hunting operators must be registered with the Namibia Tourism Board (NTB).
• Hunting with dogs is not permitted.

Requirements for importing firearms

Refer to the Namibian Professional Hunting Association (NAPHA) website for required minimum muzzle velocities for firearms for various game species. A maximum of one-hundred (100) rounds of ammunition may be imported per hunting rifle. Only ammunition for the specific caliber may be imported.

It is legal to hunt with black powder rifles in Namibia. (Refer to this website for the black-powder hunting regulations.). It is illegal to transport black powder and percussion caps. These can be purchased in Namibia. Inquire with your trophy-hunting operator. It is legal to import bows for bow-hunting purposes. No import permit is required. (Refer to this website for the Bow Hunting requirements.).