The public auction takes place on March 24 and will be exclusive to Botswana registered companies, she said.She explained that the elephants would come from controlled hunting areas CT4, CT7 in Central District and NG8, NG9 and NG35 in Ngamiland. "There will be five elephants in CT4, six in CT7, six in NG8, five in NG9, and five again in NG35," she said. Chimidza advised companies that wish to participate in the auction to register with CITES management authority of Botswana at the Department of Wildlife and National Parks before March 11. Pre-qualification conditions and venue can be obtained from the CITES offices during registration. Bidders are expected to pay P500 non-refundable deposit while successful bidders will be required to pay for all the purchased elephants within 48 hours from the date of sale. She said that successful companies would be permitted to resell the jumbos to eligible clients and that Botswana registered professionals hunters will guide all hunts. Chimidza said that last year, they raised P1.1 million from auctioning 18 elephants, indicating that elephants that are auctioned are from human-elephant conflict areas. "So we want to make income from auctioning them while at the same time trying to control their population," she said. She revealed that from the nationwide survey conducted in 2006, there currently are more than 151 elephants (for auction) nationwide. However, a fresh auction is expected to be conducted in the near future.
