from ODIRILE TOTENG in Gaborone, Botswana
GABORONE – BOTSWANA is concerned at the purported United Kingdom (UK) Bill expected to ban the importation of legally harvested wildlife trophies into the European country.
A majority of the wildlife is from Africa.
The list of targeted wildlife includes all species that are on the Botswana hunting quota.
Botswana’s Ministry of Environment and Tourism said if the bill was passed, it would affect the country’s wildlife management.
This would negatively impact professional hunting associations and community-based support organizations from across Africa, thereby drastically reducing hunting incentives for Britons to hunt abroad, particularly Africa, the ministry stated.
The Ministry of Environment and Tourism said “forcing” Botswana and other African countries to manage wildlife with reduced funding would negatively impact conservation projects, biodiversity enhancement initiatives and habitat protection in the region.
It will also increase the risk of poaching and human-wildlife conflict, negatively affecting the largest herd of elephants Botswana supports.
“This false narrative that hunting poses a threat to species has no scientific basis and misleads the British citizenry and the world at large,” Botswana’s Ministry of Environment and Tourism.
The Southern African country is home to around 130,000 elephants, the largest population of any country globally.
– CAJ News
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