From NYT of all places ...

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09...livelihood.html?_r=0

is there any substance to the hint that Botswana may be reconsidering its outright ban?

I would think the private ranches, where hunting is still legal, must be suffering as well due to the decline in hunters visiting Botswana. In the past, DG hunters would often do some PG hunting on private land in conjunction with their ele or buff. Now, with no DG hunts to speak of, the private ranches are merely competing with similar hunting operations in Namibia and RSA, but not on a level playing field: the logistics of getting to Botswana are more difficult and the firearms regs are more restrictive.

From personal observation, lions and elephant are a major nuisance now in many areas. Leopards have always been a headache to stock farmers. A reliable person told me they kill over 300 leopard a year on the farms, for which nobody gets a single red cent of revenue.

I hear the villages are raising holy hell over money, safety and meat.

That's why I'm going in May
Something different and at the same time help those guys there

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
I hear the villages are raising holy hell over money, safety and meat.

As if Ian Khama gives a shit. There will never be enough rural votes in Botswana to make a difference.

I met Ian Khama once. He acts more like a haughty Englishman than a real African. I think he spent too much time receiving a liberal education in the UK.

quote:

Originally posted by GunsCore:
I met Ian Khama once. He acts more like a haughty Englishman than a real African. I think he spent too much time receiving a liberal education in the UK.

Sadly, he is not measuring up to his great father's legacy, at least so far.

Still, where there is life, there is hope.

Intelligence from Botswana, Maun area

"Well, all you mention has already come to pass. Poaching is rife and farmers are shooting every lion they see. Very sad and unneccessary!"

Also cattle die-off due to lack of water/grazing.

Game seems to be holding up a bit better.

When will the world realize that the best and highest use of marginal land is managed hunting??

http://www.independent.co.uk/v...-trade-a6794981.html


Botswana joins the Giants Club.

to quote "On the Namibian side, hunting is still allowed and, despite efforts by the country’s government, elephants are lost to those illegally seeking ivory. On the Botswana side, in the Linyanti Wildlife Area and the neighbouring 7,270sq mile Chobe national park, some 80,000 elephants roam free as their ancestors did across the African continent for millennia."

So the insinuation is that if you allow hunting, poaching is rife; but if you prohibit hunting, somehow the poachers disappear!!!!

What a load of hogwash. Botswana has a huge elephant problem and it's destroying the fragile ecosystems in that arid country.

http://voices.nationalgeograph...-the-new-york-times/


Botswana's hunting ban deserves better from the New York times, National Geographic article.

There is no change in the situation in Botswana.

There is hunting under Directors permit on game ranches where you are allocated a quota of your own game to hunt.

The remaining concessions have not been allocated even after 3 tender calls . No photographic companies showed any interest due to the high development costs required to restore the conservation effort lost after three years of no management in the concession areas ( pumping water ).

In November last year we flew a informal survey of the concession areas not allocated to photographic tourism in the eastern blocks - once where thousands of elephants and buffalo were seen - there where no buffalo - not one - and about 70 elephant were counted in over 8 hours of flying key habitat areas where elephant were once common before.

Communities are complaining that the benefits from ecotourism are nowhere near that which they recieved from hunting - in fact the DWNP presented the CBNRM revenues for 2014 to the AWCF where they showed the total income for 2014 for communities was P13 million , where as across the border in Zimbabwe - the campfire program reported in just one district alone , they had a revenue of P10 million and fed 1 million children and benefited over 750 000 families.

Game Farmers are reporting unprecedented damage to farming infrastructure by elephant and livestock loss to lion leopard hyena and wild dogs. Farmers are shooting these problem animals with no benefit to the species or conservation. As government has long since run out of money to pay compensation farmers are being devestated by the damage . Add in the cumulative affects of the drought, farmers and rural communities are being wiped out.

By nature Batswana people are not conflictive so we cannot rely on the nation to demand changes to the hunting situation. With the current global hunting reputation in crisis ( Cecil etc) , decision makers have the backing of anti hunting sentiment from US and European leaders.

We continue to offer plains game hunting on our ranch where you will see elephant lion leopard wild dog buffalo from time to time and in the rain season you will see more elephant than in most national parks - they will be causing damage and will be shot.

Any news on the status of Kanana? Has it sold? I know that Jason Bridger had it for sale and has stopped taking clients for hunting there.

Thanks for the update BSB. I don't know how you guys in Botswana make a game farm work when lions are eating your trophies week in and week out and you are not permitted to shoot them. Farmers can shoot lions eating their cattle no questions asked. Not to mention elephant trampling your fences and messing up your boreholes. I believe you can shoot elephants but you can't sell them. Another head-scratcher right there.

quote:

Originally posted by Russ Gould:
Thanks for the update BSB. I don't know how you guys in Botswana make a game farm work when lions are eating your trophies week in and week out and you are not permitted to shoot them. Farmers can shoot lions eating their cattle no questions asked. Not to mention elephant trampling your fences and messing up your boreholes. I believe you can shoot elephants but you can't sell them. Another head-scratcher right there.

Hi Russ ,

Yes its a conservation dilemma , but as a conservationist with investments in cattle and game farms we fight a never ending battle with buffalo , lion , leopard , elephant and wild dogs. The biggest mane lion I have seen in Botswana killed my stud (and expensive) Brahman bull , when reported to DWNP i was told shoot it , I advised them this was a animals worth $100 000 , and me shooting it without benefiting lion or conservation did not make sense. My bushman tracker of 20 years was mauled and hospitalised for 6 months by a elephant they tried to chase out of the ranch ( anybody less agile would be dead - he stayed between its legs while it tried to trample him) - he has shot between 6-10 elephants since then and can brain shoot a bull breaking a fence at 50 yards with open sights !!As at today my borehole at the ranch camp has been destroyed by elephants and the tanks pushed over as hundreds of elephants look for water in this drought , I have about 50 fence breaks a day on our 2 ranches which are 40 000 and 10 000 acres respectively , buffalo which carry the hoof and mouth disease follow the elephant and they have to be shot on sight to avoid a suspension of the EU beef industry.

Since the banning of hunting it can be safely said almost the same number of buffalo are being shot as were on quota and nearly the same amount of elephant shot or wounded.

The reason is that hunting concession areas were the buffer between Parks and the community and farming zones , since the hunting companies have been forced to withdraw from the areas , no management or water is being pumped , so where there where over 30 water holes supplying water for wildlife there are now just 2 government water points , the game arrives in the concessions find no water and push through to the farms and community lands in search of water causing unprecedented damage and destruction.

Hard to believe but I am so over shooting elephants I dont do it anymore and pass this on to staff and other agents.

On the post about Jason - the last I heard was he was working with Clive Eaton of Tholo Safaris which is right close to Kanana.