https://www.journalducameroun....on-elephant-hunting/


Botswana MPs call for lifting of ban on elephant hunting


Published on 22.06.2018 at 11h21 by APA News



Botswana’s parliament has adopted a motion requesting the government to consider lifting the ban on the hunting of elephants in areas that are not designated as game reserves and national parks, APA learnt on Friday.Botswana banned trophy hunting in 2014 following a decline in the number of wild animals.

Tabling his motion Member of Parliament Kostantinos Markus argued that the hunting ban had not only contributed to the increase in the number of elephants but also contributed to a rise in poaching.

Botswana has the largest number of elephants in Africa, which currently stands at more than 250,000.

When debating the motion, Vice President Slumber Tsogwane said human-wildlife conflicts have over the years been on an increase, primarily due to an overlap between human population and wildlife.


According to Tsogwane, such conflicts occurred when either the need or behaviour of wildlife impacts negatively on human livelihoods or when the humans pursue goals that impact negatively on the needs of wildlife.

He said the increase in human population had also resulted in the encroachment into more marginal lands inhabited by wildlife.

https://africasustainableconse...lephant-hunting-ban/



Botswana parliament votes to end elephant hunting ban
Date: June 22, 2018
Author: somervillesustainableconservation

Botswana Government

21 hrs ·
PARLIAMENT ADOPTS MOTION TO LIFT ELEPHANT HUNTING BAN

Parliament has adopted a motion tabled by Maun East MP Mr Kostantinos Markus requesting government to consider lifting the ban on the hunting of elephants in areas that are not designated as game reserves and national parks.

Debating the motion, the Vice President and Boteti West MP, Mr Slumber Tsogwane said the human/wildlife conflict had over the years been on a rife, primarily due to an overlap between human population and wildlife.

He said such conflicts occurred when either the need or behaviour of wildlife impacts negatively on human livelihoods or when the humans pursue goals that impact negatively on the needs of wildlife.

The human/wildlife conflicts, he said, had been prevalent in the Boteti constituency, where large numbers of elephants roamed freely in marginal range lands. The increase in human population had also resulted in the encroachment into more marginal lands inhabited by wildlife.

The Vice President said conflicts between people and wildlife currently ranked among the main threats to conservation countrywide, adding that with much of the wildlife living outside protected areas, one of the real challenges to conservation is how to enhance and sustain coexistence between people and wild animals.

He said the increase of elephant population had also affected the land conservation plans as they turn to over graze and destroy the natural landscape.

“Given the economic and social importance of both wildlife-related activities and agriculture, balancing the relationship between wildlife species and agricultural production is critical if the needs of all of the respective interest groups involved with these commodities are to be met,” he said.

He emphasised that the motion should not be regarded as a leeway to promoting poaching of elephants as government would implement stringent measures to protect elephants and other wildlife spies.

Mr Tsogwane said an understanding of how people and conservation agents dealt with the problem of wild animals was critical in evolving and establishing sustainable conservation systems.

He said that government would consult with all the relevant stakeholders to facilitate human/wildlife coexistence.

Tati East MP, Mr Samson Guma argued that it was undoubtedly evident that the expansion of the human society had forced people to infringe into wildlife habitats and convert land to other uses incompatible with wildlife.

Mr Guma said smallholder farmers living along the Botswana/Zimbabwe border fence had struggled for years with elephants that regularly invaded their land and destroyed their crops.

The majority of those farmers, he said, settled along the border line to benefit from rivers that do not only act as demarcation boundaries between the two countries, but also have water in abundance all year round.

Mr Guma said that the story of elephants farm invasion in his constituency was heartbreaking as a week hardly passed without elephants raiding on farms and ploughing fields alike.

“Elephants inhabiting the nearby parks easily stray outside its perimeters in search of forage, water and a place to breed, thereby destroying everything on their path,” he said.

He said both elephants and human population density in the area had become high and as a result the competition for resources between the two had intensified, hence efforts of many subsistence farmers in the area to become commercial were more like a lottery than a livelihood.

Mr Guma therefore said government should swiftly act on how best to resolve the human/wildlife conflict and the lift on the hunting ban and shooting of elephants in areas that were not designated as game reserves could be remedial to the crisis. (BOPA)

Good news!

Of course if it goes through, there goes my plan to save some money....

That would be great!

I saw that on the news wire this morning but I knew Kathi would have it posted here.

But what about the ivory ban?

Great news.

Our American friends should start working on their politicians!

I believe e the ban is on ivory from Tanzania and zimbabwe. Not Mozambique or Botswana

You cannot bring ivory from anywhere except SA and Namib and that’s if...
My point was if it gets lifted, if the ivory gets to be importable

There is no ban from anywhere. You can apply for an import permit from any country. The USFWS may even approve your application on a case by case basis. They just wont issue an import permit!

https://www.fws.gov/news/ShowN...2BC-DAE08807810E3C6B



boarkiller,

This was from a previous USFWS release. They seem to be pro-Botswana.



Legal, well-regulated sport hunting, as part of a sound management program, can benefit the conservation of listed species by providing incentives to local communities to conserve the species and by putting much-needed revenue back into conservation. At this time, the Service does not have conservation concerns with African elephant sport hunting in Namibia, South Africa, or Botswana; though it should be noted that Botswana is not currently open to elephant sport hunting.

I get the point Kathi and J, my question was simply pointed at the USFW ivory import BS.
If Botswana opens, we are still screwed when it comes to import

Fingers crossed on Botswana lifting the Ele ban!

We all know that the elephant hunting ban in Botswana had nothing to do with poaching or population decline, and everything to do with Derek Joubert bribing the Botswana President.

quote:

Originally posted by Tim Ferrall:
We all know that the elephant hunting ban in Botswana had nothing to do with poaching or population decline, and everything to do with Derek Joubert bribing the Botswana President.

And hopefully the same MPs will wake up and kick the likes of Joubert and his NGO wildlife expert cronies out of Botswana. Other African states should view this as a wake up call.

Apart from Tholo, who else operates there for PG now?

Kanana closed in 2014 & Jason Bridger passed away last year.

quote:

Originally posted by Nakihunter:
Apart from Tholo, who else operates there for PG now?

Kanana closed in 2014 & Jason Bridger passed away last year.

Herman Nienaber owns Kgabu Kalahari Lodge, which has an unfenced boundary with Central Kalahari Game Reserve. It's a fairly small property, about 15,000 acres but he has some very good kudu and eland. Andrew Baldry is familiar with him and has recommended him before here on AR.

Is it just ivory that can't be imported to the states? I was under the impression it was any part of the elephant.