By Daniel Itai.
(News of The South) – Botswana’s President, Mokgweetsi Masisi, yesterday announced that his government would start issuing trophy hunting licenses by December.
In October, Masisi defended his decision to remove the ban on hunting which had been put by his predecessor Ian Khama saying Botswana has a capacity to carry 50 000 elephants yet the country has in excess of 130 000.
“Quotas will be issued by December 2019 to allow for marketing ahead of the 2020 hunting season, it is expected that hunting will contribute significantly in reducing the human wildlife conflict by creating viable and balanced populations,” said Masisi.
About an hour’s drive outside Kasane, in an area where hunting used to take place, farmers said elephants raid their crops when they go at night to drink from the nearby Chobe River.
This has led to an uptick in incidents of human-elephant conflict. According to Botswana’s government, between August 2018 and 2019, 17 people were killed by elephants across the country. In Chobe District alone, five people were killed and seven elephants were shot by people trying to protect themselves.
However, critics have called the move by Masisi unethical, particularly as African savanna elephant numbers in general have been declining because of poaching.
Enrico Di Minin, an associate professor at the University of Helsinki said, “finding a way to ensure that wildlife populations and increasing human populations thrive together is essential to the animals’ future.”
Two years before the ban officially went into place, Botswana recorded some 367 000 tourists arriving on holiday.
In 2017, three years after the ban was enacted, about 502 000 tourists visited the country.
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