Hunting tourism on the brink

Boniface Keakabetse | Tuesday June 28, 2016 15:53

Peake said in an interview that the 2014 hunting moratorium in Botswana has decimated the local hunting industry. She said even more worrying for them is lobby in Europe and America for ban of wildlife trophies, as this would add to their demise.

Peake is also the director of Mochaba Development, a company that provides full tanning, taxidermy services, export and shipping service for unprocessed wildlife skins and skulls. The company started in 1987 as Safari Services (Pty) and changed name to Mochaba Developments in 1998. They started their business servicing hunting companies such as Hunters Africa/Bird Safaris and by providing value added business such as taxidermy. Peak expressed concern that there is an ongoing lobby in the EU to ban import of hunting trophies. She said although the proposal by certain EU parliament members to ban trophy imports was rejected, another proposal might be on the cards. She said currently, the proposal covers trophies that are CITES-listed species: elephants, lions, leopards and rhinos. She said although the proposal cannot affect Botswana game farmers and related businesses, the spin off effects of the ban, if introduced could impose specific and punitive import requirements to exporting countries such as Botswana.

Calls for the wholesale ban on importation of wildlife trophies in Europe was inspired by the killing of Cecil the Lion of Zimbabwe last year. The EU calls strengthened Botswana’s stance against hunting and has been welcomed by government while neighbouring countries such as Zambia, Zimbabwe and Namibia have complained about it.

Peake revealed that the 2014 moratorium on hunting has been very damaging for their business and for employees, who have been involved in safari hunting tourism since the 1960s.  She said it has also affected other tourism service providers such as air charters, hotels, restaurants and supermarkets.

Currently, Mochaba is the only company that provides these services as two other Botswana-based companies providing dip and pack and taxidermy services have since closed shop after the hunting stoppage. “In some cases, companies have closed resulting in staff being made redundant, with little or no opportunities for re-employment in tourism,” she said. She observed that safari-hunting tourism has been in decline since 2008, when government announced its intention not to renew leases for concessions.  Since then, hunting quota allocations were reduced by Department of Wildlife and National Parks resulting in elephant accounting for more than 90% of the hunting quota in 2013, the last year of big game safari hunting.

Peake said it would be wise for Botswana government to re-consider their position on safari hunting tourism with a wise and considered allocation of elephant and other species. She added that funds could be generated to support ongoing conservation and provide critical funds for problem animal schemes and compensation.She stated that a well regulated and ethical safari hunting sector can provide income to support conservation management of wildlife and provide incentives for local communities to tolerate and protect wildlife