Westerners still dominate trophy hunting in Botswana
Lebogang Mosikare | Monday December 27, 2021 06:00
Botswana lifted the ban on elephant hunting and other wildlife species in 2019, five years after former president, Ian Khama, who was and is still a nature enthusiast, imposed it much to the chagrin of communities that live near or within wildlife areas in the country. A clamour loud engulfed Botswana after Khama - who has vast interests in the tourism industry in Botswana including in the prime tourism address of the worldwide acclaimed Chobe District - following his imposition of the hunting embargo. In fact, Khama criticised the move to lift the hunting ban that was implemented by his successor President Mokgweetsi Masisi after nationwide consultations, as nothing but a pure political move by the latter to shore up rural votes ahead of the general elections in 2019.
Khama’s detractors alleged that he was protecting his interests and those of his allies at the expense of the interests of commoners who were and are still feeling the brunt of the destruction caused by wildlife, especially elephants. There was hue and cry following the imposition of the hunting ban especially about elephants which are abundant in the country that greatly increased in numbers the aftermath of the ban.
The elephants not only destroy people’s properties but in unfortunate situations, they also kill people just like lions and buffaloes. Recently, the chairperson of Chobe Land Board Johane Chenjekwa told the media in Francistown that government has adopted a policy that Batswana should be empowered to actively participate in the tourism industry. “To that end, the Board has taken a deliberate effort to allocate concession areas in the district to communities under the Community-based Natural Resources Management (CBNRM) Programme as opposed to individuals or companies so that a larger segment of the community benefits,” said Chenjekwa. Giving a breakdown of how the trusts managed to use the funds generated from hunting, Chenjekwa noted: “For 2020 hunting season, Chobe Enclave Community Trust (CECT) was awarded a total of which 79 assorted wildlife species by the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism (MENCT) to generate P5, 6 million from the sale of the quota; for 2020 hunting season, Pandamatenga, Lesoma, and Kasane (PALEKA) was awarded a total of which 78 assorted wildlife species by MENCT and it generated P7 million from the sale quota.
Also PALEKA has already sold its 2022 hunting quota on a 5-year sub-lease, compounded at 3% escalation yearly at P6, 1 million.” Chenjekwa added that funds generated from hunting quotas goes directly to community projects aimed at uplifting the lives of ordinary Batswana based on the land allocated. In an interview with Mmegi, Gabriel Mosindo, the chairperson of Paleka said that since they sold their quotas, they need to consult the communities in which their trust exists before taking decisions of how the money is going to be used. “Since we sold our quotas, we need to consult our communities about how to use the funds generated from the hunting quotas as per the trust’ s constitution.
However, we have not been able to carry out consultations following the outbreak of COVID-19 which barred the gathering of people in various settings such as the Kgotla. After we carry out consultations at the Kgotla, we take the input of communities and development plans from Village Development Committees (VDCs) of the respective villages that make up Paleka,” said Mosindo. Mosindo added that the money is currently safely kept in an interest generating bank account to allow the kick start of consultations with communities. While Western animal rights activists are still vehemently against the lifting of the hunting ban in Botswana to the point of even heckling President Mokgweetsi Masisi during his working visit to the US in 2019, the Westerners are still major trophy hunters in Botswana according to Mosindo and the chairperson of CECT, Poniso Shamukuni. The duo said large animals such as elephants are still hunted by Americans and Europeans which will surely leave an egg on the faces of Western conservationists. Asked about how CECT used the money generated from the hunting quotas, Shamukuni said some of the monies are used for operational expenses of the trust while others are given to the five VDC’s found under CECT. He said the VDC’s have total autonomy on how they use their allocated funds adding that the trust uses its operational funds for brick moulding and small general dealers business amongst others.
While some Westerners were (and) had qualms before and following the lifting of the ban, the National Geographic channel quoted Dan Ashe, the head of the Fish and Wildlife Service during the Barack Obama administration and now the president and CEO of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, saying that though he personally doesn’t like the idea of hunting elephants for sport, it’s important to recognise Botswana’s authority to regulate its own wildlife. “Botswana always enjoyed a very good standing with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and a reputation for professional management and relatively corruption-free government,” he said, adding that when he ran the service, “we had a professional confidence in Botswana.”