Botswana is currently appealing to UK parliamentarians to postpone or revise a bill that would ban the importation of wild animal body parts, including lion pelts, elephant tusks and zebra hides.
“It affects our business at home, the business around the governance of our wildlife resources,” Environment Minister Philda Nani Kereng had told BBC news reporters that the ban was affecting the business of locals at home, as well as the business around the governance of the Botswanian wildlife resources.
But British MP, Henry Smith, had told the BBC that the law was aimed at protecting endangered species. He also revealed that there was worry over the source of money trophy hunters pay to kill animals.
Ms Kereng, who has plans to lead a delegation to London to lobby MPs –including Mr Smith– has stated that they needed to consult countries that would be affected by the ban. The MPs had been invited to come to Botswana to this effect.
According to Kereng, Botswana boasted of a big elephant population and trophy hunting brought in the much-needed capital to assist communities living in close quarters with wildlife.
“In Botswana’s case, hunting has been well managed, there is transparency about how the money (gotten from hunting) is spent and it has prevented poaching” she had said.
Kereng had even gone on to state that over the past year, several communities had received about $2.6m from the community hunting quota in one hunting season while warning that poaching would be incentivised if people did not see its value.
“People will lose tolerance for wildlife” she had warned.
Recall that in April, Botswana luckily lobbied enough member countries of the Convention on Endangered Species of Fauna and Wildlife (Cites) –all of which regulated the trade of Wildlife– to vote against severe protections for elephants which would have established a ban on trophy hunting then.
