Fierce divide as Botswana lifts hunting ban

Many conservationists on Thursday reacted with anger over Botswana's decision to lift its blanket ban on hunting, describing it as a "horrifying" move, though others backed the idea.

Botswana fended off criticism of its decision to end the five-year ban, saying the move would not threaten the elephant population.

A government statement said the cabinet had been influenced by the "high levels of human-elephant conflict" and its "impact on livelihoods".

"Predators appear to have increased and were causing a lot of damage as they killed livestock in large numbers," it said.

"The general consensus from those consulted was that the hunting ban should be lifted." A blanket hunting ban was introduced in 2014 by then-president Ian Khama, a keen environmentalist, to reverse a decline in the population of wild animals.

But lawmakers from the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) have been lobbying for the policy change, saying wild animal numbers have become unmanageable in some areas.

Environment minister Kitso Mokaila said the government had found itself in the firing line over the decision.

"We are trying to come up with solutions and yet we seem to be the guys that are targeted for abuse," he said, adding that many lives had been lost.

"Conservation is in our DNA," he told reporters in Gaborone.

Much of the controversy has focused on elephant hunting, as landlocked Botswana has the largest elephant population in Africa, with more than 135,000 roaming freely in its unfenced parks and wide open spaces.

The London-based Humane Society International said "the horrifying decision... will send shock waves throughout the conservation world."
"Resuming... hunting is not only morally questionable and flies in the face of all international efforts to protect these giants, but it will also likely damage Botswana's hugely valuable tourism industry."
But the minister said "we have never been reckless and we will never be reckless. Our responsibility to conservation has not changed."
"Livelihoods are dependent on the revenue from trophy hunting... controllable hunting, not poaching."
The WWF said that its policy was that "scientific evidence has shown that trophy hunting can be an effective conservation tool as part of a broad mix of strategies."
"Sport hunting does get revenues going back to local communities and if we hope to maintain large landscapes for species like elephants we need to have the goodwill of local communities."