Mmegi

Proposed UK ban on trophyhunting imports irks gov’t

Mompati Tlhankane

Botswana government has been irked by recent developments in the United Kingdom (UK) following British legislators’ decision to pass a Parliamentary Bill that is expected to ban the importation of legally harvested wildlife trophies into the UK.

Recently, Members of Parliament in the UK voted to support a controversial ban on importing hunting trophies from thousands of species into the UK, preventing British hunters from bringing the body parts of lions, elephants and giraffes into the country, the majority of which are coming from Africa.

The legislation will now pass to Parliament’s upper chamber for approval. The House of Lords will rule on divisive legislation that would stop the import of endangered animals’ body parts. Following the decision, which will affect Botswana, the Ministry of Environment and Tourism has revealed that it is concerned over the purported ban because amongst others the list of targeted wildlife includes all species that are on the Botswana hunting quota.

“If the Bill is passed by Parliament, it will affect Botswana’s wildlife management. The importation ban of legally harvested wildlife trophies will negatively impact wildlife authorities including Professional Hunting Associations and Community-Based Support Organisations from across Africa, thereby drastically reducing hunting incentives for Britons to hunt abroad, primarily in Africa,” read a recent press statement from the ministry. The Ministry of Environment and Tourism emphasised that hunting is a key component of sustainable use approaches to wildlife conservation in Botswana. The ministry added that hunting has underpinned many of the varied community-based natural resources management programmes that work towards more equitable, fair and inclusive biodiversity conservation and as such Botswana has earned international accolades for its sterling efforts to conserve and manage its wildlife resources. “This hard-won reputation is a result of the implementation of wildlife management practices and strategies that stretch back several decades and that continues to this day. This has been sustainable because of our governance system and conservation strategies that focus on the broader ecosystem rather than isolated issues,” a statement from the ministry read.

Government further indicated that elephants are an example of species whose numbers have increased in Botswana as a result of judicious management by the State and its partners including community-based organisations. “Communities continue to generate considerable revenues through community quotas and special elephant quotas, subsequently used to finance elephant conservation projects and livelihood-enhancement projects for Communities in Botswana’s elephant range as well as replenishing Conservation Trust Fund,” the ministry also pointed out. The Ministry of Environment and Tourism said it is therefore crucial for Botswana to continue spreading its message on the conservation benefits of its Community Base Natural Resource Management model.

“Forcing Botswana and other African nations to manage wildlife with reduced funding will 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 impacting for example the largest herd of elephants that Botswana supports,” added the statement.

The government said that this false narrative that hunting poses a threat to species has no scientific basis and misleads the British citizenry and the world at large.

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2023-03-20T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-03-20T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://enews.mmegi.bw/article/281565179999773

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