An Australian tycoon of Turkish origin, Hatem Yavuz, dubbed the ‘King of Seal Killers’ by international environmental organisations, is Namibia’s new diplomatic representative to Turkey. Yavuz was appointed as honorary consul for Namibia in Turkey in 2010, despite a questionable and controversial background.

The Turk is said not only to be controlling 60% of the world’s seal market, but reportedly has a monopoly on seal products in Namibia. Yavuz was recently quoted in the international press boasting that he has a contract with the Namibian government to have the seal culling quota increased to one million per year. Fisheries and Marine Resources, Bernard Esau, however denied any knowledge of such an agreement. “That’s news to me. As Minister I should be the first one to know, but in this case there’s no such agreement. Perhaps he has an agreement with TAC (Total Allowable Catch) right-holders, who have agreements with people with the technical know-how in processing and marketing of seal products.” Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign affairs, Veiccoh Nghiwete, confirmed that Yavuz is now an honorary consul for Namibia in Turkey. Nghiwete had to check his records first and said that Namibia has hundreds of these honorary consuls around the world. After double-checking the records Nghiwete confirmed that Yavuz was appointed to the position in 2010. “If you find yourself there (in Turkey), just call him,” Nghiwete says.
In 2009 Yavuz became the sole buyer of seal products from Namibia. The Turkish mogul established the Yavuz Group of Companies in 1975, based in the Australian capital, Sydney, and deals in raw seals skins, wool and furs. His slogans are: “Skins are our business” and “Natural wild raw skins.” His companies have offices in Turkey, Russia and South Africa. One of the controversial products from seals is dried penises used as sexual aphrodisiac in Asia.
Pat Dickens, founder of the Seals of Nam, a non-profit organisation that has been campaigning to end Namibia’s annual seal cull on the Cape Cross Seal Reserve has repeated his appeal to the Namibian government to cancel its contract with Yavuz, which is apparently valid until 2019, as it stands in direct contravention of the Animal Protection Act of 1962 that makes it unlawful to “overload, overdrive, override, ill-treat, neglect, infuriate, torture or maim or cruelly beat, kick, goad or terrify any animal.”
The ‘King of Seal Killers’ revealed in a leaked e-mail that his seal-fur interests are worth about 27.3 million Euros (N$282 million). Namibia’s income in taxes and royalties from the seal-culling industry is said to be a mere N$1 million (US$146,000). A tourism expert, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that revenue to the state is 500 times less to the economy than what could be derived from live seals and eco-tourism.
According to Turkish news sources Yavuz is embroiled in a sex scandal with the wife of Turkish billionaire Yurdal Sert’I and is currently also going through a divorce battle, in the course of which his wife has exposed him for multiple encounters with prostitutes.