Hunting in Namibia

General Information

•  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; and
  • 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; and
  • 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).
•  Dogs may not be used to hunt for predators.

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.) .
•  Payment:
  • A detailed Tax Invoice must be issued for every hunt;
  • Value-added tax (VAT) is currently 15% and must be paid on services and trophies that are not exported. by the hunting operator on behalf of the client. (The VAT on trophies to be exported by the operator if accompanied with a copy of the passport of the client, the completed hunting permit and a copy of the invoice for the hunt is zero %.);
  • Please enquire what means of payment is required by your operator;
  • VAT is applicable on wounded game not recovered.

Prohibited Practices

•  It is illegal to hunt for trophies:
  • at night and/or with an artificial light;
  • that do not qualify in terms of the minimum measurement requirements as specified by the MET, Namibian Quality Control. If trophies do not meet this requirement, they do not have to be paid for. Exceptions are trophies with abnormalities and age deformities, which are taken home by the client, (Refer to the NAPHA Medal Brochure for minimum measurements.); and
  • in contravention of the Fair Chase principals as stated in the NAPHA Code of Conduct.
• The immediate export of trophies from Namibia is possible only with a veterinary certificate, an export permit from the MET and the import permit as required by the country of final destination.
• Prohibited firearms are:
  • All handguns
  • All automatic firearms
  • All crossbows