Zimbabwe wildlife authorities said Thursday they are seeking to develop alternative tourism products following the suspension by the West of imports of sport-hunted elephant and lion trophies.
The United States in April banned imports of elephant trophies while Europe banned lion trophies from Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwean government has since decried the move, likening it to "sanctions on elephants."
Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority acting director for conservation Geoffreys Matipano told a parliamentary committee that the ban was going to negatively impact on the country's hunting revenue.
He said as a result, they were now shifting their focus towards such products as nonconsumptive tourism which he said would have huge revenue generation potential if well developed.
Matipano said unlike hunting, nonconsumptive tourism had a number of revenue sources such as game viewing, game drives, game walks and photographing.
Safari hunting generates substantial amounts for the nation, with revenues estimated to reach 75 million U.S. dollars this year, up 15 percent from last year. Visitors from the United States usually contributes about 85 percent of the safari revenues in Zimbabwe.
Meanwhile, Matipano said at least three wildlife poachers had been killed this year in two parks along the Zambezi river.
He said five elephants had so far this year died due to cyanide poisoning in the Zambezi National Park, a few months after the death of more than 100 elephants in similar circumstances in Hwange National Park in October last year.