Africa-Press – Botswana. While the issuance of hunting licences is a wildlife management tool and a source of revenue generation for community trusts, Botswana continues to grapple with international opposition and upholding its own policies.
Despite strong opposition from the United Kingdom (UK) and Germany, the government raked in P42 million from selling hunting licences during the 2024 hunting season, Parliament has heard.
Botswana allocates hunting licences as a conservation and wildlife population control measure, but the policy has been largely criticised to a point where the UK and Germany are about to ban importation of hunting trophies.
Canada and Belgium are among countries that have completely banned trophy imports.
Economic benefits
This came to light when the Minister of the Environment and Tourism, Wynter Mmolotsi presented his ministry’s Committee of Supply Speech for Development Budget Proposals for the 2025/2026 financial year recently.
He told Parliament that Botswana’s wildlife population management results in optimum economic benefits for community trusts.
Botswana issues 400 elephant hunting licences per year for the period of April to November with community trusts benefitting from international hunters purchasing the licences.
Millions of pula
“For the 2024 hunting season, the community quotas generated the sum of P42 863 423,” Mmolotsi said.
“Furthermore, a total of P15 633 950 was realised from the sale of special elephant quotas to support elephant conservation and community-led projects within the elephant range.
“The country is facing opposition from animal rights organisations to our policy of sustainable wildlife utilisation of using hunting as a management tool and empowerment to local communities.
“The ministry, working with the hunting industry and affected community trusts, stepped up efforts to counter this growing opposition to sustainable hunting through engagements carried out in the UK and Germany.
Int’l engagement
“The ministry will continue to engage the international community on the importance of sustainable utilisation to our economy and the conservation of our wildlife populations.
Mmolotsi told the House that poaching and human-wildlife conflict are challenges that the government continues to struggle with.
He noted that poaching incidents have increased by 16 percent for the period under review while human-wildlife conflict cases have reduced from 9010 to 6325 in the last two calendar years.
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