
Botswana MP proposes lifting elephant hunting ban - adamnemecek
https://africageographic.com/blog/botswana-mp-proposes-lifting-elephant-hunting-ban/
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klaasvakie
It's about time Botswana did something about their elephant numbers. Chobe is
practically overrun with elephants, and until now, the government seemed
unwilling to keep the numbers under control.

If they can raise money for conservation by combining their culling activities
with trophy hunting I think it is a win for everybody. This can turn a pure
cost-centre into a revenue generating activity with the income applied to
other desperately underfunded efforts like Rhino conservation.

I support hunting for food, but don't support trophy hunting unless it is part
of a culling program or part of removing problem animals.

~~~
undersuit
I question whether Botswana needs to kill their elephants, especially as
reports have Botswana containing 1/3 of the entire African Elephant
population.

>Chobe is practically overrun with elephants

And the proposed law will not fix that, hunting would only be allowed outside
preservation areas.

I like the final line of the article:

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

~~~
klaasvakie
> I question whether Botswana needs to kill their elephants, especially as
> reports have Botswana containing 1/3 of the entire African Elephant
> population.

Obviously killing elephants (any animal really) in large numbers is a big
problem on many levels. Transporting elephants is also difficult and
expensive, and more importantly you need someplace to put them. Most of the
other big game reserves in Southern Africa also have problems keeping their
elephant numbers in check. Where would you take them?

> And the proposed law will not fix that, hunting would only be allowed
> outside preservation areas.

I haven't been up there in a couple of years, but the fencing around Chobe is
spotty at best, the entire riverfront is unfenced (at least the part you get
to see as a visitor), so I don't think there is really a big restriction on
the Elephants' freedom of movement. I am guessing this is one of the reasons
why they can cause so much damage to the crops of local farmers, they aren't
really fenced inside the game reserve properly.

Targeting the elephants outside the park does more to alleviate the farmers'
immediate problem, but its the same population of elephants (in the broad
sense, not the herd sense) inside and outside the park.

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adamnemecek
You guys should consider donating to the International Anti-Poaching
Foundation[0][1] which fights these poachers. The founder, Damien Mander[2],
is an Australian ex spec-ops sniper who is using his military experience to
train the park rangers since they, unlike the poachers, tend to be poorly
equipped and trained as well as understaffed.

There is also the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust[3][4] which takes care of
elephant and rhino orphans (most of them are orphans due to poaching). For $50
a year, you can become a sponsor of a particular animal and they'll send you
photos and updates about how your sponsored animal is doing. You can for
example sponsor this little fella [5][6].

[0] [http://www.iapf.org/en/](http://www.iapf.org/en/)

[1] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Anti-
Poaching_Fo...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Anti-
Poaching_Foundation)

[2]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damien_Mander](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damien_Mander)

[3]
[http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org](http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org)

[4]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Sheldrick_Wildlife_Trust](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Sheldrick_Wildlife_Trust)

[5]
[http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/asp/orphan_profile.asp...](http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/asp/orphan_profile.asp?N=318)

[6] [http://instagram.com/p/sigT3IAUKb](http://instagram.com/p/sigT3IAUKb)

~~~
RIMR
If the ban is lifted, donating to the International Anti-Poaching Foundation
wouldn't accomplish much, since none of the elephant hunting would be
illegal...

There's also an elephant population problem in Botswana, so as sad is it may
be, these measures are necessary.

~~~
adamnemecek
Poaching goes on regardless of legal status. Also they work in other places
besides Botswana.

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everdev
Can anyone explain sport/trophy hunting to me? I can't imagine looking through
a scope knowing you're about to end an animals life for "fun" without the
thought of it's pain, social bonds or right to exist stopping you from pulling
the trigger.

~~~
whiddershins
There’s a great Joe Rogan podcast with a bow hunter, and Joe spends a lot of
time explaining why trophy hunting can be great.

It funds conservation, which decreases poaching, which is better for literally
everyone involved including the animals and the poachers.

I believe it also tends to be very controlled and directed so the effects can
be planned.

Elephants can be a huge, dangerous, nuisance (apparently) to farmers who are
trying to have enough food to eat. That’s just one example.

~~~
adamnemecek
The benefits are greatly exaggerated

[https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/10/trophy-h...](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/10/trophy-
hunting-killing-saving-animals/)

The money doesn't end up where it should and the oversight is minimal.

