The East African Professional Hunter's Association (EAPHA) was an organization of East African

white hunter White hunter is a literary term used for professional big game hunters of European descent, from all over the world, who plied their trade in Africa, especially during the first half of the 20th century. The activity continues in the dozen Afri ...

s founded in

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

in 1934. Well known members included

Philip Percival Philip Hope Percival (1886–1966) was an English-born renowned white hunter and early safari guide in colonial Kenya. During his career, he guided Theodore Roosevelt, Baron Rothschild, and Ernest Hemingway on African hunts. Hemingway modelle ...

Harry Selby Harry Selby (18 May 1913 – 8 January 1984) was a Scottish politician. A barber by trade, based in Glasgow, he became an active Trotskyist, joining the Revolutionary Socialist League. When this disintegrated, he became a leading figure in t ...

Sydney Downey Sydney Downey was a British-Kenyan professional white hunter and safari pioneer. Always known as Syd, he learned the trade of guiding safari hunts from an older generation of professional hunters, including his early mentor Philip Percival. He ...

and Donald Ker. Their motto was ''nec timor nec temeritas'', or "neither fear nor foolhardiness". The Association formed out of a desire to regulate hunting in the wake of technological developments like the safari vehicle, which had made accessing remote hunting areas much easier. During its existence it was able to accomplish much to conserve East African wildlife and become perhaps one of the most respected societies in the world of its kind. The Association was disbanded in 1977 when Kenya outlawed all big game hunting. The association's official records are held at the University of Florida, with selected photos and typescript documents available online.

History

Early years

EAPHA was founded on April 12, 1934 by a group of white hunters who had gathered at the Norfolk Hotel in Nairobi Kenya. The founders were worried about the effects of technological developments on the wildlife populations of Kenya and sought to regulate the hunting industry there. For instance, the advances in automobile technology had enabled access to remote wildlife areas. Within the first few years of its existence, the Association managed to get East Africa the most stringent game laws in the world. These laws included protecting the females of each species and banning night hunting and the use of dogs. The sale of game meat was also prohibited, as was the shooting of animals within proximity of watering holes or of safari vehicles. In its early years, it also continued to press authorities to create conservation areas for East African wildlife.

1970s

By the 1970s, individual countries had started forming their own hunters' associations, but none rivaled EAPHA in the extremity of its conservationism. EAPHA's members had become quite powerful in local affairs and began pushing even harder at that time to create conservation areas. Two of its members, Sydney Downey and Donald Ker, began to lobby for the establishment of a game reserve that would include the entire

Masai Mara Maasai Mara, sometimes also spelt Masai Mara and locally known simply as The Mara, is a large national game reserve in Narok County, Kenya, contiguous with the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. It is named in honour of the Maasai people, th ...

triangle, a proposal that Kenya's chief game warden supported. The two also lobbied for a similar reserve across the border in the

Serengeti The Serengeti ( ) ecosystem is a geographical region in Africa, spanning the Mara and Arusha Regions of Tanzania. The protected area within the region includes approximately of land, including the Serengeti National Park and several game r ...

of Tanganyika. Yet despite its work in conservationism, the association was disbanded on the September 26, 1977 when Kenya officially outlawed all hunting within its borders.

References

{{Authority control Hunting organizations History of Africa Sports organizations established in 1934 Organizations established in 1977