“NO MORE HUNTING”-KHAMA
No one will be allowed to hunt wildlife in Botswana, come 2014, President Lt Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama has announced.
He said wildlife numbers were decreasing at an alarming rate, hence the decision.
"Next year will be the last time anyone is allowed to hunt in Botswana and we have realised that if we do not take care of our animals, we will have a huge problem in terms of tourism," President Khama told Sankoyo and Mababe residents last week.
The President also decried the rate at which poachers were killing elephants.
"We have increased the number of soldiers and police officers that patrol our game parks. Yesterday our officers apprehended five people with 12 elephant tusks in the Chobe area. Two of them are Batswana and three are Zimbabweans," said President Khama.
He said government was aware of people's complaint about damages caused by the elephants in their villages, especially in the farms.
"There is someone who will come to this district next week, starting with Khwai village. That person will help you chase away elephants from your villages by using certain methods that he has been taught," he said.
He indicated that elephants were the main attraction of tourists to Botswana hence he could never allow for them to be killed. He also informed residents that compensation for damage done to farms by elephants would be 100 per cent instead of the current 35 per cent.
"As for those who lose cattle because of lions and other predators, compensation will be cattle," he said.
President Khama indicated that compensation would be done after extensive investigations.
He also appealed to residents to help law enforcement officers in fighting poaching.
In South Africa, he said, poachers killed 440 rhinos last year and this year they had so far killed 450.
Earlier on, residents of Sankoyo had complained to President Khama about elephants that were damaging their crop fields and lions which killed their livestock.
They also pleaded with the President to extend the hunting season since elephants were too many in their village. BOPA
Hunting in Botswana
Re: No more hunting in Botswana
Although mentioned before as it was made public in April already, it is great news indeed. Botswana is next to Egypt the strongest economy in Africa. Maybe because they have thinking people in power. 
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Flutterby
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Re: No more hunting in Botswana
Botswana Kills Trophy Hunting – Ian Michler reflects
by Ian Michler on November 13, 2012 in Conservation, News
Just under 2 weeks ago, the President of Botswana, Lt. Gen. Ian Khama, gave a speech wherein he announced that by the end of 2013, trophy hunting would no longer be allowed in Botswana. Speaking at a local kgotla in Mababe, a village along the edge of the Okavango Delta, he said that “Next year will be the last time anyone is allowed to hunt in Botswana and we have realised that if we do not take care of our animals, we will have a huge problem in terms of tourism.”
The decision has been expected for a number of years now, and while there is still uncertainty with regards to the exact details and nature of how this will be implemented, the local press has taken his words as being the end of the road for hunters. It is believed that the ban extends to all ‘citizen hunting’ as well, and covers all species, including elephant other than a small CITES based quota for those designated as ‘problem animals’.
While these steps will obviously be unwelcome amongst the hunting fraternity, there is a growing group of ecologists, conservationists and ecotourism operators, as well as large numbers within the general public that will laud the government for their visionary approach. For these people, trophy hunting offers little or no benefit to conservation, and cannot match other forms of ecotourism with regards to its economic, social and educational contributions. It is also regarded as an anachronistic and needless pastime carried out by a privileged few.
And in Botswana’s case, the industry has shown an alarming inability to regulate itself, which has meant various operators over the years getting away with unethical or illegal behaviour. There will be no tears shed for some of these people.
However, we should not forget that many within both the private and government sectors across this continent still remain enamoured by the lure of trophy hunting, and it’s an industry that is fuelled by a substantial lobby supported and funded by wealthy and influential business and political interests from around the world. It is these factors that have ensured hunting has remained entrenched for a good deal longer than its credentials merit. As a result, the industry will take longer to die in many other countries, but in taking this bold decision Botswana has broken ranks and they must be complimented for this.
Expect many of the hunters to head for grounds where their activities are still tolerated – Tanzania, northern Mozambique and Zambia will be the favourite destinations. This will of course bring further pressure on already pressurized wildlife populations with more hunters vying for quota.
And the Botswana government should now be monitoring the impacts this decision is likely to have on wildlife breeding and canned hunting practices within areas such as Ghanzi. We already know that a government Minister from the region has been responsible for importing and exporting lions over the last few years. Expect a surge in the appalling practices that have now become the hallmark of the private sector within the South African wildlife industry.
In the meantime, the remaining hunting concessions will in all likelihood be turned over to photographic ecotourism, a far superior land-use option for managing wildlife resources. The big challenge for them, in conjunction with government and the conservation agencies, is to ensure a successful transition. It will surely take time, and there will be setbacks along the way, but twenty years ago who would have thought that northern Botswana would be rid of trophy hunting?
by Ian Michler on November 13, 2012 in Conservation, News
Just under 2 weeks ago, the President of Botswana, Lt. Gen. Ian Khama, gave a speech wherein he announced that by the end of 2013, trophy hunting would no longer be allowed in Botswana. Speaking at a local kgotla in Mababe, a village along the edge of the Okavango Delta, he said that “Next year will be the last time anyone is allowed to hunt in Botswana and we have realised that if we do not take care of our animals, we will have a huge problem in terms of tourism.”
The decision has been expected for a number of years now, and while there is still uncertainty with regards to the exact details and nature of how this will be implemented, the local press has taken his words as being the end of the road for hunters. It is believed that the ban extends to all ‘citizen hunting’ as well, and covers all species, including elephant other than a small CITES based quota for those designated as ‘problem animals’.
While these steps will obviously be unwelcome amongst the hunting fraternity, there is a growing group of ecologists, conservationists and ecotourism operators, as well as large numbers within the general public that will laud the government for their visionary approach. For these people, trophy hunting offers little or no benefit to conservation, and cannot match other forms of ecotourism with regards to its economic, social and educational contributions. It is also regarded as an anachronistic and needless pastime carried out by a privileged few.
And in Botswana’s case, the industry has shown an alarming inability to regulate itself, which has meant various operators over the years getting away with unethical or illegal behaviour. There will be no tears shed for some of these people.
However, we should not forget that many within both the private and government sectors across this continent still remain enamoured by the lure of trophy hunting, and it’s an industry that is fuelled by a substantial lobby supported and funded by wealthy and influential business and political interests from around the world. It is these factors that have ensured hunting has remained entrenched for a good deal longer than its credentials merit. As a result, the industry will take longer to die in many other countries, but in taking this bold decision Botswana has broken ranks and they must be complimented for this.
Expect many of the hunters to head for grounds where their activities are still tolerated – Tanzania, northern Mozambique and Zambia will be the favourite destinations. This will of course bring further pressure on already pressurized wildlife populations with more hunters vying for quota.
And the Botswana government should now be monitoring the impacts this decision is likely to have on wildlife breeding and canned hunting practices within areas such as Ghanzi. We already know that a government Minister from the region has been responsible for importing and exporting lions over the last few years. Expect a surge in the appalling practices that have now become the hallmark of the private sector within the South African wildlife industry.
In the meantime, the remaining hunting concessions will in all likelihood be turned over to photographic ecotourism, a far superior land-use option for managing wildlife resources. The big challenge for them, in conjunction with government and the conservation agencies, is to ensure a successful transition. It will surely take time, and there will be setbacks along the way, but twenty years ago who would have thought that northern Botswana would be rid of trophy hunting?
-
Lisbeth
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Re: No more hunting in Botswana
Hopefully those who cannot hunt in Botswana any more will not use South Africa as there hunting grounds. 
I have always had a great respect for the way that Botswana is handling the problems. As Jesse says, they are using the brain and thinking of the future and not only of tomorrow 
I have always had a great respect for the way that Botswana is handling the problems. As Jesse says, they are using the brain and thinking of the future and not only of tomorrow "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." Nelson Mandela
The desire for equality must never exceed the demands of knowledge
The desire for equality must never exceed the demands of knowledge
Re: No more hunting in Botswana
No More Hunting of Any Kind in Botswana
No More Hunting of Any Kind in Botswana
Posted by Steve Boyes of National Geographic Expeditions in Explorers Journal on November 15, 2012
The President of Botswana, Lieutenant General Ian Khama, announced recently at a public meeting in Maun, the gateway to the Okavango Delta, that no further hunting licenses would issued from 2013, and that all hunting in Botswana would be impossible by 2014. This new ban extends to all ‘citizen hunting’ and covers all species, including elephant and lion that can only be shot when designated as “problem animals”. President Khama stated that ecotourism has become increasingly important for Botswana and contributes more than 12% of their overall GDP, noting that wildlife control measure through issuance of hunting licenses had reached its limit. Furthermore, he said the issuance of hunting licenses had fueled poaching and the resultant “catastrophic” declines in wildlife, while preventing sustained growth in the tourism industry. The global tourism industry must support this move by sending thousands more tourists to see Botswana’s natural heritage. Next year, the Okavango Delta will be nominated to be a UNESCO World Heritage Site and what better way to celebrate than this halt of the issuance of hunting licenses…
In 2011, Dr Mike Chase (www.elephantswithoutborders.org) released results from aerial surveys over the Okavango Delta that demonstrated that the populations of some wildlife species had been decimated by hunting, poaching and veldt fires over the last decade. These research findings found that 11 species have declined by 61 percent since a 1996 survey in the Ngamiland district.
Ostrich numbers declined by 95 percent, while 90 percent of wildebeest were also wiped out, along with 84 percent of antelope tsessebe, 81 percent of warthogs and kudus, and nearly two-thirds of giraffes.
Dr Chase said that: “The numbers of wildebeest have fallen below the minimum of 500 breeding pairs to be sustainable. They are on the verge of local extinction”. On the ground, the Department fo Wildlife & National Parks have seen lion populations dwindle in protected areas like the Khutse Game Reserve, Central Kgalagadi Game Reserve and the Kgalagadi Trans-Frontier Park, where human-wildlife conflict has been escalating for over a decade. Due, in large part, to the efforts of National Geographic Explorers-In-Residence, Dereck and Beverly Joubert, lion hunting was suspended in 2007. These visionary policy choices are an example to other African countries that depend on revenue from ecotourism, but have been strongly opposed by several conservation groups in Botswana that argue hunting quotas issued to local communities near wildlife management areas are a heritage right and empower these villages. Another argument against the ban is that some areas are simply unsuitable for photographic safaris and hunting operations are the only economically viable option. This bold move by the Botswana government needs global support to succeed. What is going to start happening? Will the elephants destroy the forests and the lions eat the last wildebeest? Will illegal poaching become more of a problem? Will Botswana blossom with a booming ecotourism industry and uplifted, educated rural communities?
In Botswana, the hunting industry has been a law unto itself and demonstrated an inability to regulate itself with several operators becoming notorious for getting away with unethical and illegal behavior in the remote wilderness. Throughout Africa there is growing discontent with interventions by foreign aid workers and NGOs, asking for better regulation of trophy hunting and the illegal trade in bushmeat. Trophy hunting is a seen as privilege of the wealthy, most especially in the United States, resulting in a powerful, well-funded lobby supported and funded by wealthy and influential business and political leaders from around the world. This visionary move by Botswana will no doubt have a strong reaction from hunters.
Trophy hunters are normal people with familial, cultural and socio-economic reasons for hunting. Professional hunters and their clients will simply go elsewhere and, in this day-and-age, that means focussing on the last-remaining unprotected wilderness areas in Africa: southern Tanzania, northern Mozambique, and northern Zambia.
North and West Africa have no wildlife to speak of anymore, central Africa is simply not an option, and South Africa has been saturated with game farms to supply local demand for hunting. Again the hunters will be the unfortunate pioneers that establish roads, start working with local villages, and build the first camps. They will then print money for 5-10 years before the photographic safari operators arrive to pick up the pieces. This has gone on for over 100 years in Africa and left us with depleted wildlife populations lay waste by the boom of the hunting safari industry in the 20th century. Times are changing and the world is becoming exponentially smaller every year. People across the globe are realizing that everything on earth is finite and that species going extinct is forever. Just the same as doctors don’t smoke or prescribe cigarettes anymore, humankind needs to put the rifle down and take up our new role as custodians of what remains of our natural heritage. Now and forever…
An African Perspective
African leaders like Khama are standing up and taking bold moves to protect national interests. The Ugandan President Museveni said: “Please. Don’t disturb their holiday”, when talking about the UN mission to the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Africa is rising to the responsibility of protecting the continent’s natural resources and unique heritage. African Union troops are restoring government in Somalia. Africa is more free, more prosperous, more peaceful, and more educated than ever before. There have also never been more than 1 billion people living on the continent at any one time. The 21st century could be Africa’s century as abundant resources become globally important and African leaders learn how protect their interests when faced by world powers like China and the United States.
There is no doubt that Africa is going to develop rapidly over the next few decades. No other continent or nation has managed to develop without chronic loss of biodiversity and functioning ecosystems. The United States has no bison or passenger pigeons. China has no clean air and many species on the brink of extinction. Wolves disappeared from England in the 1500s. There is very little wildlife left in South Africa outside of protected areas. Let’s hope that, with global support, Africa will be able to emerge in 50 years time as a prosperous, stable and cooperative union of nations with the world’s wildest, most pristine wilderness areas on earth.
Most African tribes have “royal hunting grounds” and recognize the importance of protecting wildlife populations from people capable of exterminating them. Sub-Saharan Africa’s “Great Work” is our vast wildernesses, like the Serengeti, Congo and Okavango, that have persisted since the dawn of time as symbols of the “wild”. For thousands of years, the tsetse fly and mosquito helped keep people and their cattle from settling in these vast wild landscapes, where they had to chose a more nomadic lifestyle moving with livestock and establishing temporary homesteads and villages. African cultures have evolved in close contact with the wilderness and learnt how to co-exist with nature. For the last 50 years, however, aerial spraying, poisons, mosquito nets and medicine have opened up Africa and nothing but war and legislative protection stops people from moving in and civilizing untouched, remote wilderness areas.
The new frontier in Africa is the hard line between the human landscape (cultivated/built-up/no wildlife) and the wilderness. This land conversion has only ever gone one, irreversible direction and over the last 25 years has accelerated to the point that Africa reported deforestation rates twice that of the rest of the world.
Human-wildlife conflict is the latest buzz word in conservation NGOs that work in Africa and conferences are being convened to find ways of “mitigating” this escalating conflict, prescribing the development of alternative livelihoods for communities dependent on bushmeat for protein and disposable income. The fight to save Africa’s wild places is like any guerrilla war, and the other side has more money, more power, and know how to manipulate the system. The front lines of this conflict are the villages and communities pushing to grow and expand into protected areas and wilderness to supply the demands of local and international markets. Africans are realizing that what makes Africa special is the “African bush”, our great protected areas and wildernesses captivate the imagination. I have worked as a safari guide for many years and have always enjoyed seeing well-trained guides from the local community talking about “their birds and animals”. Us Africans are born proud of our wildlife and are starting to see that the “wild” is finite and that there is not much left. Africa needs to be proud and follow in the footsteps of Botswana.
A Personal Perspective
I started work as a camp manager in the Okavango Delta over 10 years ago and remember some African wild dogs as they ran through the bush when we suddenly came upon a crane truck with blood dripping out of the tailgate and an elephant’s foot protruding from the top. They were on their way to the village and we had heard the volley of shots the day before. The hunters to the east of us, used to hang carcasses in the trees to delineate their boundary with new photographic safari camps sharing their concessions. There is no doubt that hunters were pioneers in the Okavango Delta, entering after the first explorers in the late 1890s and establishing themselves in the first camps and lodges. The 20th century in northern Botswana was their century and Botswana became known as a premier hunting destination for the adventurous. Kalahari lions and leopards, as well as the “big tusker” elephants, became famous in hunting circles, attracting stars, politicians, leaders, and the wealthy to this landlocked country. The 21st century has been all about the rise of photographic safaris with this increasingly lucrative industry continues to boom. Private companies like Wilderness Safaris: www.wilderness-safaris.com and Great Plains Safaris: www.greatplainsconservation.com made it their mission to take over one hunting concession after another in a crusade to push hunting out of northern Botswana.
Now, I must say that I am pro-photographic safaris and have grown to detest sport hunting with a passion. It is an anachronistic adrenalin rush that has no place in the stressed wilderness areas of Africa. Illegal poaching and the bushmeat trade are something completely different and cannot be addressed by banning the issuance of hunting licenses. I am not a vegetarian. I have hunted. I did my Masters dissertation on hunting quotas. When I first arrived in the Okavango Delta in 2001, I had just finished my Masters and, if asked, would have told you that hunting makes a valuable contribution to the local economy and, if done properly, could benefit wildlife populations. Within 6 months of learning and discovery in a remote wilderness area in the Okavango Delta, running a small bush camp and doing my PhD fieldwork on the ecology of Meyer’s parrot, I had changed my mind forever. Unveiled for what they are, I realized that all the game parks, game farms, nature reserves, national parks and sanctuaries I had visited in South Africa were all human constructs that would not exist without fences, waterholes, veterinarians, fire management, culling, hunting, and intensive management. This wilderness in the Okavango Delta was “still alive” and didn’t need us. This made me think and spend evenings staring out in wonder at this living eden. Watch the Film Trailer for Okavango: www.okavangofilm.com I then looked at the staff working for me at Vundumtiki Camp and they were all happy and healthy, singing instead of skinning, sweeping instead of shooting. They were proud of our little camp and loved being proud hosts. The small temporary hunting camps in neighboring concessions were sullen places that were simply places of employment. They were making wages while killing their own natural heritage for foreign commercial hunters that keep all profits. The fact is that in northern Botswana, in the Okavango, Kwando, Chobe and Linyanti, most lodges and camps charge $600-1,500 per person per night and are busy most of the time, out-earning hunting concessions and giving back far more to local communities. Some photographic operators have gone so far as to provide nearby villages with beef to supplement the meat that would have come from trophy hunting and local subsistence hunting. A new age is dawning, but is Africa ready…?
No More Hunting of Any Kind in Botswana
Posted by Steve Boyes of National Geographic Expeditions in Explorers Journal on November 15, 2012
The President of Botswana, Lieutenant General Ian Khama, announced recently at a public meeting in Maun, the gateway to the Okavango Delta, that no further hunting licenses would issued from 2013, and that all hunting in Botswana would be impossible by 2014. This new ban extends to all ‘citizen hunting’ and covers all species, including elephant and lion that can only be shot when designated as “problem animals”. President Khama stated that ecotourism has become increasingly important for Botswana and contributes more than 12% of their overall GDP, noting that wildlife control measure through issuance of hunting licenses had reached its limit. Furthermore, he said the issuance of hunting licenses had fueled poaching and the resultant “catastrophic” declines in wildlife, while preventing sustained growth in the tourism industry. The global tourism industry must support this move by sending thousands more tourists to see Botswana’s natural heritage. Next year, the Okavango Delta will be nominated to be a UNESCO World Heritage Site and what better way to celebrate than this halt of the issuance of hunting licenses…
In 2011, Dr Mike Chase (www.elephantswithoutborders.org) released results from aerial surveys over the Okavango Delta that demonstrated that the populations of some wildlife species had been decimated by hunting, poaching and veldt fires over the last decade. These research findings found that 11 species have declined by 61 percent since a 1996 survey in the Ngamiland district.
Ostrich numbers declined by 95 percent, while 90 percent of wildebeest were also wiped out, along with 84 percent of antelope tsessebe, 81 percent of warthogs and kudus, and nearly two-thirds of giraffes.
Dr Chase said that: “The numbers of wildebeest have fallen below the minimum of 500 breeding pairs to be sustainable. They are on the verge of local extinction”. On the ground, the Department fo Wildlife & National Parks have seen lion populations dwindle in protected areas like the Khutse Game Reserve, Central Kgalagadi Game Reserve and the Kgalagadi Trans-Frontier Park, where human-wildlife conflict has been escalating for over a decade. Due, in large part, to the efforts of National Geographic Explorers-In-Residence, Dereck and Beverly Joubert, lion hunting was suspended in 2007. These visionary policy choices are an example to other African countries that depend on revenue from ecotourism, but have been strongly opposed by several conservation groups in Botswana that argue hunting quotas issued to local communities near wildlife management areas are a heritage right and empower these villages. Another argument against the ban is that some areas are simply unsuitable for photographic safaris and hunting operations are the only economically viable option. This bold move by the Botswana government needs global support to succeed. What is going to start happening? Will the elephants destroy the forests and the lions eat the last wildebeest? Will illegal poaching become more of a problem? Will Botswana blossom with a booming ecotourism industry and uplifted, educated rural communities?
In Botswana, the hunting industry has been a law unto itself and demonstrated an inability to regulate itself with several operators becoming notorious for getting away with unethical and illegal behavior in the remote wilderness. Throughout Africa there is growing discontent with interventions by foreign aid workers and NGOs, asking for better regulation of trophy hunting and the illegal trade in bushmeat. Trophy hunting is a seen as privilege of the wealthy, most especially in the United States, resulting in a powerful, well-funded lobby supported and funded by wealthy and influential business and political leaders from around the world. This visionary move by Botswana will no doubt have a strong reaction from hunters.
Trophy hunters are normal people with familial, cultural and socio-economic reasons for hunting. Professional hunters and their clients will simply go elsewhere and, in this day-and-age, that means focussing on the last-remaining unprotected wilderness areas in Africa: southern Tanzania, northern Mozambique, and northern Zambia.
North and West Africa have no wildlife to speak of anymore, central Africa is simply not an option, and South Africa has been saturated with game farms to supply local demand for hunting. Again the hunters will be the unfortunate pioneers that establish roads, start working with local villages, and build the first camps. They will then print money for 5-10 years before the photographic safari operators arrive to pick up the pieces. This has gone on for over 100 years in Africa and left us with depleted wildlife populations lay waste by the boom of the hunting safari industry in the 20th century. Times are changing and the world is becoming exponentially smaller every year. People across the globe are realizing that everything on earth is finite and that species going extinct is forever. Just the same as doctors don’t smoke or prescribe cigarettes anymore, humankind needs to put the rifle down and take up our new role as custodians of what remains of our natural heritage. Now and forever…
An African Perspective
African leaders like Khama are standing up and taking bold moves to protect national interests. The Ugandan President Museveni said: “Please. Don’t disturb their holiday”, when talking about the UN mission to the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Africa is rising to the responsibility of protecting the continent’s natural resources and unique heritage. African Union troops are restoring government in Somalia. Africa is more free, more prosperous, more peaceful, and more educated than ever before. There have also never been more than 1 billion people living on the continent at any one time. The 21st century could be Africa’s century as abundant resources become globally important and African leaders learn how protect their interests when faced by world powers like China and the United States.
There is no doubt that Africa is going to develop rapidly over the next few decades. No other continent or nation has managed to develop without chronic loss of biodiversity and functioning ecosystems. The United States has no bison or passenger pigeons. China has no clean air and many species on the brink of extinction. Wolves disappeared from England in the 1500s. There is very little wildlife left in South Africa outside of protected areas. Let’s hope that, with global support, Africa will be able to emerge in 50 years time as a prosperous, stable and cooperative union of nations with the world’s wildest, most pristine wilderness areas on earth.
Most African tribes have “royal hunting grounds” and recognize the importance of protecting wildlife populations from people capable of exterminating them. Sub-Saharan Africa’s “Great Work” is our vast wildernesses, like the Serengeti, Congo and Okavango, that have persisted since the dawn of time as symbols of the “wild”. For thousands of years, the tsetse fly and mosquito helped keep people and their cattle from settling in these vast wild landscapes, where they had to chose a more nomadic lifestyle moving with livestock and establishing temporary homesteads and villages. African cultures have evolved in close contact with the wilderness and learnt how to co-exist with nature. For the last 50 years, however, aerial spraying, poisons, mosquito nets and medicine have opened up Africa and nothing but war and legislative protection stops people from moving in and civilizing untouched, remote wilderness areas.
The new frontier in Africa is the hard line between the human landscape (cultivated/built-up/no wildlife) and the wilderness. This land conversion has only ever gone one, irreversible direction and over the last 25 years has accelerated to the point that Africa reported deforestation rates twice that of the rest of the world.
Human-wildlife conflict is the latest buzz word in conservation NGOs that work in Africa and conferences are being convened to find ways of “mitigating” this escalating conflict, prescribing the development of alternative livelihoods for communities dependent on bushmeat for protein and disposable income. The fight to save Africa’s wild places is like any guerrilla war, and the other side has more money, more power, and know how to manipulate the system. The front lines of this conflict are the villages and communities pushing to grow and expand into protected areas and wilderness to supply the demands of local and international markets. Africans are realizing that what makes Africa special is the “African bush”, our great protected areas and wildernesses captivate the imagination. I have worked as a safari guide for many years and have always enjoyed seeing well-trained guides from the local community talking about “their birds and animals”. Us Africans are born proud of our wildlife and are starting to see that the “wild” is finite and that there is not much left. Africa needs to be proud and follow in the footsteps of Botswana.
A Personal Perspective
I started work as a camp manager in the Okavango Delta over 10 years ago and remember some African wild dogs as they ran through the bush when we suddenly came upon a crane truck with blood dripping out of the tailgate and an elephant’s foot protruding from the top. They were on their way to the village and we had heard the volley of shots the day before. The hunters to the east of us, used to hang carcasses in the trees to delineate their boundary with new photographic safari camps sharing their concessions. There is no doubt that hunters were pioneers in the Okavango Delta, entering after the first explorers in the late 1890s and establishing themselves in the first camps and lodges. The 20th century in northern Botswana was their century and Botswana became known as a premier hunting destination for the adventurous. Kalahari lions and leopards, as well as the “big tusker” elephants, became famous in hunting circles, attracting stars, politicians, leaders, and the wealthy to this landlocked country. The 21st century has been all about the rise of photographic safaris with this increasingly lucrative industry continues to boom. Private companies like Wilderness Safaris: www.wilderness-safaris.com and Great Plains Safaris: www.greatplainsconservation.com made it their mission to take over one hunting concession after another in a crusade to push hunting out of northern Botswana.
Now, I must say that I am pro-photographic safaris and have grown to detest sport hunting with a passion. It is an anachronistic adrenalin rush that has no place in the stressed wilderness areas of Africa. Illegal poaching and the bushmeat trade are something completely different and cannot be addressed by banning the issuance of hunting licenses. I am not a vegetarian. I have hunted. I did my Masters dissertation on hunting quotas. When I first arrived in the Okavango Delta in 2001, I had just finished my Masters and, if asked, would have told you that hunting makes a valuable contribution to the local economy and, if done properly, could benefit wildlife populations. Within 6 months of learning and discovery in a remote wilderness area in the Okavango Delta, running a small bush camp and doing my PhD fieldwork on the ecology of Meyer’s parrot, I had changed my mind forever. Unveiled for what they are, I realized that all the game parks, game farms, nature reserves, national parks and sanctuaries I had visited in South Africa were all human constructs that would not exist without fences, waterholes, veterinarians, fire management, culling, hunting, and intensive management. This wilderness in the Okavango Delta was “still alive” and didn’t need us. This made me think and spend evenings staring out in wonder at this living eden. Watch the Film Trailer for Okavango: www.okavangofilm.com I then looked at the staff working for me at Vundumtiki Camp and they were all happy and healthy, singing instead of skinning, sweeping instead of shooting. They were proud of our little camp and loved being proud hosts. The small temporary hunting camps in neighboring concessions were sullen places that were simply places of employment. They were making wages while killing their own natural heritage for foreign commercial hunters that keep all profits. The fact is that in northern Botswana, in the Okavango, Kwando, Chobe and Linyanti, most lodges and camps charge $600-1,500 per person per night and are busy most of the time, out-earning hunting concessions and giving back far more to local communities. Some photographic operators have gone so far as to provide nearby villages with beef to supplement the meat that would have come from trophy hunting and local subsistence hunting. A new age is dawning, but is Africa ready…?
-
Lisbeth
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Re: No more hunting in Botswana
Certainly not all of Africa is ready. If only we could sent all the inhabitants of the sensitive areas to the bush for a week with someone like the author of the above article, maybe they would realise that the bush is a richness to be treasured and if not protected it will disappear forever! Maybe all the people governing the countries should be the first to attend the "Wilderness school"!!!!!A new age is dawning, but is Africa ready…?
"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." Nelson Mandela
The desire for equality must never exceed the demands of knowledge
The desire for equality must never exceed the demands of knowledge
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BotswanaConnection
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Re: No more hunting in Botswana
President Khama Ian Khama has got a very good point there, And i strongly agree with him. Wildlife populations, Not only in Botswana but all over the world are decreasing. I feel we need to take more initiative and work towards protecting our wildlife.
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Flutterby
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Re: Hunting in Botswana
Botswana's ban on hunting is only temporary:
When Botswana's government announced a ban on hunting about two years ago, the news was celebrated by Anti- hunting organisations around the world. Botswana's ban is allowing the government to study the reasons behind the decline of wildlife before lifting the ban once again.
The ban excludes these exceptions:
-Certain birds are allowed to be shot.
-All registered game farms hunting is still legal.
It is also important to understand where and how hunters spend money when they take a hunting trip. Firstly, there’s transport: travel costs, including flights and moving to the location. Then they need accommodation, food and drinks. Finally, it costs money to book the species they are hunting, the professional hunters who ensure permits are obtained, trackers, skinners and taxidermists.
Aside from employment opportunities, communities also benefit. In most cases the carcasses are donated or sold at a cheap rate to communities, since the trophy hunters cannot transport the meat so only take the horns and skin. These hunters are big spenders, investing on average more than US$10 000 per trip, which is considerably higher than the average spending by any other type of tourist.
The ban therefore implies a loss in taxes, foreign exchange and jobs. But Botswana’s story does not end here.
Poverty persists
Another major threat facing wildlife in Botswana is an increase in poaching. Media reports, specifically referring to elephants, as well as personal contacts, confirm that they are experiencing a rise in incidents. Poaching is fuelled by two sources, poverty and greed.
The latest report on species numbers in southern Africa shows that South Africa and Namibia are two of the few countries where wildlife is on the increase. The rest of the countries are all experiencing high levels of poaching and a decrease in the number of wild animals.
This implies that from a conservation point of view wildlife is not doing well and one of the reasons for this is because hunting creates huge value. People protect what is valuable to them. And if hunting helps them get money and other goods from the animal, it is certainly in their best interests to look after the animals.
Anti-hunting organisations facts are based on speculation and "feelings"!!
Anti-hunting organisations believe that photographic safaris are a natural and better replacement. The reality is that it is not easy to replace hunters with photographic tourists since they:
On average they spend less than hunters.
Photographic safaris can be done almost anywhere in the world and they are not limited to game farms or concession areas where hunting is limited to specific destination or areas.
Finally, you do not require as many skills to do photographic safaris compared with hunting safaris.
From a South African perspective, the ban in Botswana could lead to an increase in hunting demand. South Africa and other African countries that allow hunting will benefit from the ban since those who hunt legally will seek another destination.
In addition, Botswana is experiencing problems with high numbers of specific species such as elephants that are causing serious damage to the environment. This raises the question: who really benefits here and what good can come out of it?
Kenya is a good example of where a hunting ban failed. In the 1970s Kenya banned elephant hunting as their numbers had dwindled. This did not make a difference as wealthy and politically connected people were major players in the ivory trade game. The ban did not apply to them. The ivory was in such high demand that officials needed a small bribe and were able to hunt ivory. Three times the number of elephants were hunted after the ban was put in place.
A hunting ban is not the answer to solve the issues raised by both the anti-hunting proponents and the conservationists. There are many examples in South Africa that prove that a well managed hunting operation generates economic benefits for the broader community, creates jobs and contributes significantly to conservation!
It is better to exclude specific species that are endangered from the hunting list. South Africa has done this successfully in the past and it is currently being done with rhino. Issuing limited permits for species under threat, as is currently done for leopard, is a better option. The answer clearly lies in the effective management of our resources.
Legal- hunters are not to blame for Botswana's loss in wildlife statistics:
Hunting of Elephants has been stopped, even if many wildlife experts say Botswana has too many elephants- about 200 000, up from 40 000 in 1990. Trophy hunters killed 400 elephants- and 800 other animals- annually before the ban. That was too few to justify the practice as a means of reducing their numbers Professor Peake said.
Even prior to the ban, hunting was heavily regulated. Animal hunting was under strict quotas, the size of which varied according to the specific area. Owners of Trophy hunting game farms were granted quotas per animal- for example ten elephants per farm per year. Some animals were completely protected and excluded from quotas, such as lion and leopards.
Many outsiders imagine that conversation is about being kind to animals. But in reality, it is about conserving the species and making money for that purpose!!!
@copy rights of Merelize v.d Merwe
When Botswana's government announced a ban on hunting about two years ago, the news was celebrated by Anti- hunting organisations around the world. Botswana's ban is allowing the government to study the reasons behind the decline of wildlife before lifting the ban once again.
The ban excludes these exceptions:
-Certain birds are allowed to be shot.
-All registered game farms hunting is still legal.
It is also important to understand where and how hunters spend money when they take a hunting trip. Firstly, there’s transport: travel costs, including flights and moving to the location. Then they need accommodation, food and drinks. Finally, it costs money to book the species they are hunting, the professional hunters who ensure permits are obtained, trackers, skinners and taxidermists.
Aside from employment opportunities, communities also benefit. In most cases the carcasses are donated or sold at a cheap rate to communities, since the trophy hunters cannot transport the meat so only take the horns and skin. These hunters are big spenders, investing on average more than US$10 000 per trip, which is considerably higher than the average spending by any other type of tourist.
The ban therefore implies a loss in taxes, foreign exchange and jobs. But Botswana’s story does not end here.
Poverty persists
Another major threat facing wildlife in Botswana is an increase in poaching. Media reports, specifically referring to elephants, as well as personal contacts, confirm that they are experiencing a rise in incidents. Poaching is fuelled by two sources, poverty and greed.
The latest report on species numbers in southern Africa shows that South Africa and Namibia are two of the few countries where wildlife is on the increase. The rest of the countries are all experiencing high levels of poaching and a decrease in the number of wild animals.
This implies that from a conservation point of view wildlife is not doing well and one of the reasons for this is because hunting creates huge value. People protect what is valuable to them. And if hunting helps them get money and other goods from the animal, it is certainly in their best interests to look after the animals.
Anti-hunting organisations facts are based on speculation and "feelings"!!
Anti-hunting organisations believe that photographic safaris are a natural and better replacement. The reality is that it is not easy to replace hunters with photographic tourists since they:
On average they spend less than hunters.
Photographic safaris can be done almost anywhere in the world and they are not limited to game farms or concession areas where hunting is limited to specific destination or areas.
Finally, you do not require as many skills to do photographic safaris compared with hunting safaris.
From a South African perspective, the ban in Botswana could lead to an increase in hunting demand. South Africa and other African countries that allow hunting will benefit from the ban since those who hunt legally will seek another destination.
In addition, Botswana is experiencing problems with high numbers of specific species such as elephants that are causing serious damage to the environment. This raises the question: who really benefits here and what good can come out of it?
Kenya is a good example of where a hunting ban failed. In the 1970s Kenya banned elephant hunting as their numbers had dwindled. This did not make a difference as wealthy and politically connected people were major players in the ivory trade game. The ban did not apply to them. The ivory was in such high demand that officials needed a small bribe and were able to hunt ivory. Three times the number of elephants were hunted after the ban was put in place.
A hunting ban is not the answer to solve the issues raised by both the anti-hunting proponents and the conservationists. There are many examples in South Africa that prove that a well managed hunting operation generates economic benefits for the broader community, creates jobs and contributes significantly to conservation!
It is better to exclude specific species that are endangered from the hunting list. South Africa has done this successfully in the past and it is currently being done with rhino. Issuing limited permits for species under threat, as is currently done for leopard, is a better option. The answer clearly lies in the effective management of our resources.
Legal- hunters are not to blame for Botswana's loss in wildlife statistics:
Hunting of Elephants has been stopped, even if many wildlife experts say Botswana has too many elephants- about 200 000, up from 40 000 in 1990. Trophy hunters killed 400 elephants- and 800 other animals- annually before the ban. That was too few to justify the practice as a means of reducing their numbers Professor Peake said.
Even prior to the ban, hunting was heavily regulated. Animal hunting was under strict quotas, the size of which varied according to the specific area. Owners of Trophy hunting game farms were granted quotas per animal- for example ten elephants per farm per year. Some animals were completely protected and excluded from quotas, such as lion and leopards.
Many outsiders imagine that conversation is about being kind to animals. But in reality, it is about conserving the species and making money for that purpose!!!
@copy rights of Merelize v.d Merwe