Animal rights group's report on Botswana elephants denounced as false
Botswana hunting communities denounce report on international hunting, , writes Emmanuel Koro.
Gaborone, Botswana — Botswana's hunting communities have denounced a report funded by an animal rights group that claims international hunting is threatening the country's elephant population and impoverishing hunting communities, writes Emmanuel Koro.
The report, written by Dr Adam Cruise, a South African-based anthropologist, was funded by Fondation Franz Weber, a Switzerland-based animal rights group.
Cruise's report claims that international hunting is not providing tangible financial benefits to local communities, is not assisting with the conservation of wildlife populations, and is not mitigating elephant-conflict incidences.
However, Botswana hunting communities say that Cruise's report is false and misleading. They point to the fact that Botswana has a very good elephant management model, which has resulted in a large and healthy elephant population.
They also say that international hunting provides essential revenue streams for local communities and helps to support conservation efforts.
"Hunting is the largest and booming industry that we have ever known in the 21st century," said Mr. Siyoka Simasiku, Executive Director of the Ngamiland Council of NGOs.
"The income earned from hunting is life-changing because it's benefiting communities socio-economically."
Simasiku said that the benefits of international hunting include potable water, solar power, housing, habitat, and wildlife conservation.
He said that hunting revenue is also used to employ community escort guides to ensure that there is no wildlife poaching or illegal off-take in the hunting areas.
The Botswana Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) also dismissed Cruise's report. In a press statement, DWNP Director Dr Kabelo Senyatso said that the report "is false and misleading."
Senyatso said that elephant populations in Botswana have increased as a consequence of judicious management by the government and its partners, including community-based organisations.
He also said that the World Conservation Union (IUCN) Red List released in March 2021, noted that while savannah elephants have declined across Africa, Botswana (and the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area) are reporting stable or increasing populations.
"This attests to the successes of the approaches in use by the Government of Botswana, which include trophy hunting," said Senyatso.
The Southern African Community Leaders Network (SACOLN) also denounced Cruise's report. SACOLN Chairperson Dr Rodgers Lubilo said that Cruise "seems to have a personal grudge with certain people who are promoting sustainable livelihoods in SADC countries."
Lubilo said that the report is a "falsehood" and that trophy hunting is a "game-changer" in SADC hunting communities.
He said that he is a product of international hunting revenue, having grown up in a rural community in South Luangwa and being schooled at a hunting revenue education facility, together with his colleagues.
Lubilo said that SACOLN is "committed to sustainable livelihoods in SADC countries" and that it will "continue to denounce falsehoods that threaten wildlife and communities."
The UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES) also supports international hunting as a scientific wildlife management measure.
CITES Secretary-General Ivonne Higuero said that "hunting can be a sustainable and effective way to manage wildlife populations."
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) also supports international hunting. In its 1997 WWF Quota Setting Manual, WWF says that "the main purpose of a quota is to identify the number of animals that can be killed without reducing the population."
"We are confident that elephant populations in Botswana can be managed sustainably through a combination of trophy hunting and other conservation measures," said WWF-Botswana Country Director Dr Tafadzwa Gonda.
The report by Dr Adam Cruise has been widely criticised by Botswana hunting communities, the Botswana government, and the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora.
The report is based on false and misleading information and should be dismissed.
About the writer: Emmanuel Koro is a Johannesburg-based international award-winning environmental journalist who writes independently on environmental and developmental issues in Africa.
No surprise then.
Some of the animal rights groups will not be happy until the people are removed and there is nothing left but wild animals. Some of their allies within Botswana think the same way.