In addition to the general stupidity of killing animals that you don’t even eat, there may be another reason to cancel any upcoming safaris in Zimbabwe that you may have planned. President Bush today signed new sanctions against 1 individual and seventeen companies with connections to the discredited Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe, including a company called Famba Safaris.

According to a press release from the Office of Foreign Assets Control, Famba Safaris is a “registered Zimbabwean safari operator, whose Director and major shareholder is SDN Webster Shamu, Mugabe’s Minister of State for Policy Implementation.” Webster Shamu was put on the Specially Designated Nationals List on November 23, 2005.

The reason for adding Famba Safaris now to the SDN goes back to a brouhaha that erupted when Shamu was first placed on the SDN list. You see, HHK Safaris, one of the largest operators of safaris in Zimbabwe, has a somewhat ambiguous relationship with Famba Safaris, claiming that it “incorporates” Famba Safaris. After the initial designation of Shamu, the influential newsletter The Hunting Report raised questions as to whether this would make it impossible for Americans to do business with HHK due to its affiliation with Shamu. A spokesperson for HHK subsequently told Hunting Report that Shamu had no further affiliation with Famba and that Americans could feel free to come on down to Zimbabwe and kill a few hippos.

Well, not anymore, at least until HHK explains away its affiliation with Famba Safaris.

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