revenge killings of wildlife will increase, as well as poverty gaps.”

Interviews conducted this month with Botswana’s hunting community representatives show that they all share the same view that international hunting is their major economic activity. They believe that there is no rural economic activity capable of replacing hunting, which would yield equal socio-economic and conservation benefits that the community is currently enjoying.

The Chieftainess of the Pandamentenga hunting community, Rebecca Banika said that international hunting is supporting socio-economic developments, wildlife, and habitat conservation in her community.

“We also benefit from being given game meat of hunted wildlife,” she said.

“Every community benefits from international hunting revenue. We use some of the funds to sponsor school children who fail their high school exams so that they can pass and become employed and then look after themselves and their families.

“We also use the hunting revenue to support local farmers by purchasing farming equipment such as the community tractor that we recently bought.”

According to Banika, for the 2023 hunting season that started in April, the Pandamatenga community has already been paid P6.5 million (over $430,000) in advance.

“We use the money for conservation and socio-economic developments that are democratically decided by the hunting community members through representative decision-making meetings,” Banika said. Meanwhile, the chieftainess has appealed to British parliamentarians to support international hunting, ahead of this Friday’s decisive debate on a proposed trophy hunting imports ban.

“The British parliamentarians should not ban the trophy hunting imports but rather be our advocates,” she said.

Chieftainess Banika who has vowed to continue speaking for the interests of the wildlife-rich Pandamantenga hunting community said that “international hunting is not a hobby but a very important economic activity to hunting communities”.

She said that international hunting “is used as a wildlife management tool” to control wildlife populations within the carrying capacities of their different ecosystems.

She said southern African hunting communities, including those from Botswana, use international hunting revenue to finance wildlife and habitat conservation. They protect their valuable wildlife in the same way that businesspeople spend money to protect their assets and later make more money out of them.

In a recent interview Lillian Shango, a Pandamantenga Community resident urged international NGOs who are lobbying their countries to ban trophy imports to “leave us to continue hunting”. She said the activity was “bringing economic development to our community”.

“If you say international hunting must be stopped, how do you want us to survive and where do you want us to go, to find a means to survive?”

Elsewhere, Nchunga Nchunga a member of one of Botswana’s richest hunting communities, the Chobe Enclave, said that local hunting communities are benefiting a lot from international hunting with wildlife and habitat conservation also being an advantage. Nchunga, who is also a committee member of the Chobe-Caprivi Conservancies, said in fact, hunting is one of the most effective conservation tools.

“You hunt the animals so that you don’t overpopulate the area,” he said.

“Apart from generating income, international hunting is helping create employment in hunting communities.”

As international hunters fly into Botswana’s capital city, Gaborone and towns such as Chobe and Maun, they quickly disappear into the country’s wilderness areas to hunt wildlife.

Awaiting them at hunting lodges where they stay and dine are local people employed as chefs, waitresses, car-washers, housekeeping staff, and professional hunters and trackers. Some of the most talented trackers and professional hunters come from hunting communities. This means that quite a number of them are employed in the hunting industry. They use their income to support their families and send their children to schools. This helps to alleviate poverty.

Nchunga said that the benefits of international hunting include revenue that is used by communities to develop community infrastructure. “In 2022, in my community, the Chobe Enclave Conservation Trust we managed to earn P4.6 million (over $350,000). The money was used to meet the communities’ socio-economic needs such as building churches, houses, mortuaries, support socio-economic and habitat, and wildlife conservation projects.”

Nchunga denounced the animal rights groups’ fundraising industry NGOs for opposing international hunting.

“They don’t know anything about international hunting’s solid and sustainable support for wildlife and habitat conservation and socio-economic development in Botswana and other wildlife-rich southern African communities.”