Media barred from seal cull

THE independent media will not be allowed to cover Namibia’s annual seal cull – under any circumstances.

This was spelled out in no uncertain terms in a letter by Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources Permanent Secretary, Frans Tsheehama, this week. Only State-owned media will be allowed to enter and film the culling under stringent conditions, the Permanent Secretary of Fisheries, Frans Tsheehama, said this week.Following the arrest of two foreign journalists – Jim Wickens and Bart Smithers – for entering the area without permits and their subsequent conviction, The Namibian applied for a permit and it was turned down.The foreign journalists were filming the clubbing of seals.It means even if they had applied, the two journalists would not have been granted a permit, and neither would any other media apart from those funded by the Government of Namibia.In recent years only the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation has received a permit to enter the area.’If the Government decides for the coverage by the media, such a project will be awarded to the State media institutions of which terms and conditions will be drafted and agreed upon in writing between the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources and that specific institution,’ Tsheehama wrote in a written reply to The Namibian’s request for a permit.That was after an impression was initially created that the journalists needed a permit to enter the area.The newspaper had requested the permit to enter and do a story on Namibia’s annual seal cull.’The Namibian wishes to give fair and balanced coverage of the seal cull…; to witness on the ground what the cull process entails so that we can tell a true and objective story,’ the letter to Tsheehama said.A few days later Tsheehama said ‘permission to enter the aforementioned area is NOT (bold and underlined) granted’.’Under no circumstances film activities may take place during the harvesting of seals,’ he said.Two weeks ago Wickens and Smithers were arrested and charged for trespassing the marine protected area under regulations 22 and 39 of the Marine Resources Regulation under the Marine Resources Act of 2000.Regulation 22 clearly states ‘a person may not enter or remain in any marine reserve declared by the Minister in terms of section 51 of the Act, except in the performance of his or her duties under the Act or these regulations or on a written authorisation by the Minister.’Wickens and Smithers were given the choice of 12 months in jail or a fine of N$5 000 each and their employer, the British investigative agency Ecostorm, paid the fine.According to Namibian Marine Resources Act, trespassing in the marine protected area could incur a maximum fine of N$500 000 or 10 years’ imprisonment.The two journalists were allegedly chased and attacked with the clubs used to kill the seals.They were in Namibia to produce a documentary on the controversial seal hunt, which animal activists have described as barbaric and outdated.