Bertie Jacobs
- Africa must take ownership of its own wildlife.
- Botswana has proven how effective it is at sustainable wildlife conservation.
- Hunting is an effective tool to manage wildlife sustainably.
Germany’s proposed ban on the import of hunting trophies over poaching concerns has drawn the ire of Botswana’s President, Mokgweetsi Masisi. Botswana is home to the world’s largest elephant population, which has grown to more than 130 000.
Marauding elephant
herds wreak havoc on local crops, properties and are endangering the lives of
the country’s citizens, and President Masisi says that hunting is one way to
stem the destructive tide.
However, Germany's
environment ministry has called for stricter rules on the import of hunting
trophies, to which President Masisi vowed to send 20 000 elephants to
Germany. Botswana has already given 8 000 elephants to Angola and has
promised about 500 to Mozambique.
Prof Peet van der
Merwe from the research unit for Tourism Research in Economics,
Environs and Society (TREES) at the North-West University (NWU) in South
Africa, says that the continent’s conservation should be left in local hands.
“I completely agree
with President Masisi’s stance on how Botswana wants to manage wildlife,
especially elephants. Africa must take ownership of its own wildlife. I think
it is time that Germany and other countries stop telling us how to manage our
wildlife. It is our wildlife, and we know the best way to do it,” Van der Merwe
explained.
“Botswana has a very
good conservation management system and model, and they have proved over the
years how effectively and sustainably they can manage their wildlife. Hunting
is one of the tools you can use to manage wildlife sustainably. There are many
poverty-stricken communities in Botswana. If they can’t plant or harvest crops
due to elephant populations destroying their crops, what are they to do? How will
they survive? Hunting generates a lot of income for local, impoverished
communities. That money can be used to uplift those communities and there can
be investments in those communities,” he added.
“Botswana, South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe, to name but a few, all have very good conservation management strategies. We have healthy wildlife populations and we have proven that we can manage them sustainably.”
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