Botswana’s government authorized the killing of 23 elephants for its independence day celebrations this week, drawing criticism from conservationists and one of its former presidents.
The licenses to hunt the elephants were issued in districts across the country, with each receiving a portion of the overall quota. The elephants would provide meat for needy rural communities, authorities said Friday in defense of the move.
While African savanna elephants are listed as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, the southern African nation of Botswana has a large elephant population estimated at around 130,000, more than any other country.
Its controlled annual elephant hunting quotas have sparked criticism before, but the government has defended them as necessary to manage elephant numbers and try and limit human-elephant conflict.
Lifted hunting ban
Botswana lifted a ban on hunting elephants in 2019, largely because of their burgeoning numbers. It has issued annual quotas to hunt between 200 and more than 400 elephants recently, depending on the year.
The government also authorised this week the killing of dozens of antelope as part of the initiative, which coincided with Botswana celebrating the 60th anniversary of its independence from Britain on Wednesday.
Botswana’s Elephant Protection Society said the decision to kill elephants was reckless and might provoke herds to be more hostile to people they live near.
“When one elephant is shot, the rest become defensive,” it said.
Human-wildlife conflict
Human-wildlife conflict is a major issue for many African countries. Other nations, including neighbor South Africa, also issue annual quotas for the hunting of elephants.
This week’s elephant hunting was defended by Dimakatso Ntshebe, deputy director at the government’s department of wildlife and national parks.
“Wildlife conservation must deliver meaningful benefits to the communities that live alongside wildlife and contribute to its protection,” he said Friday.
But Ian Khama, who served as Botswana’s president from 2008 to 2018 and now holds a traditional governance role as a regional chief, said he disagreed with the move, and it created an “expectation” that elephants would be killed for future national events.
