Botswana, a country commended by many conservationists for banning trophy hunting, just reintroduced the hunting of elephants. This makes Kenya the only country where it’s illegal to hunt big game. The Botswana government said the elephant herds were destroying precious farmlands and crops and that hunting would bring in enormous sums of money which would help local communities. The meat from the slain elephants, they claimed, would be used for pet food.
I don’t wish to question the ethics of the Botswana government nor any of the countries that do allow trophy hunting. Only their motives. Just as I do those of the wealthy Americans, Europeans and Asians who fly to these countries to kill these incredible animals.
Do I feel for the poor farmers whose crops get destroyed by elephants? Of course, I do. And I think governments need to take steps to protect them. But I don’t believe the best way to protect farmers is to kill elephants. It isn’t as if the elephants weren’t there destroying the odd crop before hunting was banned in Botswana five years ago.
Is the answer to protecting people killing elephants? Or is it building elephant proof fences around their property? Don’t you then solve two issues in an effective and humane manner?
So, who pay for the fences? The answer is to levy a fee on tourists who come to Botswana because it is the last true wilderness where you can see the animals in one of the most pristine, beautiful places left on earth. And people who are motivated by that alone will gladly pay a few hundred dollars or euros extra to make sure it stays that way.
That’s what I think, anyway.