The state of Botswana has revived elephant hunting by lifting the ban in force since 2014
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himThe state of Botswana, an African country where pachyderms have reached a considerable number, lifted the ban on elephant hunting on 22 May 2019.
The government promises that it will be done "ethically" and justifies its decision by decreeing a difficulty in controlling the pachyderm population which is growing more and more.
A measure taken to satisfy farmers, for whom the growing pachyderm population had become a problem, to the point of having a negative effect on their income.
A study showed that:
"The conflict between human elephants has increased in number and intensity and is increasingly affecting people's livelihoods",
the country's environment ministry said.
The latter promised that the hunt would resume "in an orderly and ethical manner".
A practice that was banned in 2014
Wildlife advocates say the reopening of elephant hunting could ruin Botswana's tourism - a pillar of the country's economy.
Hunting for endangered species was banned in 2014 by former Botswana president Ian Khama. His successor, Mokgweetsi Masisi, who came to power last year, had distanced himself from the policy of defending wildlife at all costs.
Botswana has by far the largest elephant population in Africa, around 135.000 recorded in 2015, which move freely and many of them cross Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Some experts estimate that their number could now reach 160.000, which would represent a multiplication by three in thirty years.
Poaching is the main threat to pachyderms, whose tusks have a huge market in Asia, mainly to meet the needs of traditional medicine.
In the summer of 2018, the NGO Elephants Without Borders warned of a spate of poaching in Botswana and identified at least 100 elephants killed between July and September.
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Sylvia Romano
