BOTSWANA LIFTS THE ELEPHANT HUNTING MORATORIUM 2020

Read GMFER Letter to President Masisi

Stop the killing of 272 Botswana elephants.

Hunting is not a necessary evil, there are alternatives.

“Allowing the slaughter of these magnificent animals is robbing both my generation and those of the future of our African heritage. I call upon everyone to join me in telling the Government of Botswana, we will not sit pretty as we watch them rob us of our future.”

Vincent Ontita, Conservation and Social Justice Advocate, Kenya.

"African youth are now, more than ever, alive to the truth that elephants are part of our pride and heritage to conserve and hold in trust for future generations. Shortsighted politicians, poachers, trophy hunters and their silver bullets must never be allowed to endanger this heritage."

Leslie Olonyi, Environmental Lawyer, Kenya.

African governments like to cry about colonialism, yet their leaders are engaged in a blatant dance with Western and Asian exploitive interests, says Rosemary Alles co-founder and president of the Global March for Elephants and Rhinos organization.

Botswana needs to find a way to ensure that wildlife populations and increasing human populations thrive together. Studies have shown that local communities do not reap the benefits that they are promised from the hunting industry.

Elephants have expanded their territory since the hunting ban in Botswana, they are no longer limited to game reserves and forest reserves; they wander through villages. According to the Botswana government, elephants killed seventeen people in the country between August 2018 and 2019. President Masisi has received advice about appropriate land use and planning as a means to reduce human-elephant conflict from globally acclaimed elephant experts. He has chosen to ignore all such expert advice; instead Botswana’s president is working with Safari Club International and Dallas Safari Club; both aligned with the notoriously corrupt NRA (USA). Recently, Safari Club International awarded President Masisi its “Legislator of the Year” award for lifting the ban on trophy hunts in Botswana.

“A nation is judged by how it treats its animals”
Gandhi

"In 2016, Botswana became a beacon of hope for the worldwide struggle to save elephants from extinction. Botswana joined Kenya and Gabon on the world stage at CITES calling for the full restoration of Appendix I for all African elephants…. It is unfathomable to imagine that Botswana is issuing permits to kill 272 elephants this year.”

Jen Samuel, Founder, Elephants DC.

A nation’s people follow the example set by its leaders; Botswana’s president has set a dangerous precedent that is actively harming the historic relationship between human and animal; specifically between earth’s largest terrestrial mammal and the good people of Botswana. The elephant has become the nation’s “enemy”. The palpable and growing lack of reverence demonstrated by a segment of Botswanian society toward Africa’s iconic giant can be witnessed in several horrific videos that surfaced on Social Media exposing torture and brutality targeting elephant calves; sources suggest that in one case, the calf was killed by those who brutalized it. It is indeed extraordinary that a nation once recognized for its exemplary consideration toward nature and conservation is now home to humans who torture baby elephants. One is forced to ask “why”?

Poaching of both rhino and elephant are increasing in Botswana; no serious or meaningful action is being taken to address the growing crisis. Good science tells us that the elephant population in Botswana has been relatively stable since 2012 and sits at ~130,000 individuals; a single anomalous data point deviates from this number. Yet, the government insists that elephant populations have exploded in Botswana leading to human-elephant conflict and has –in an irrational, dystopian and dubious response- slated 272 individuals for slaughter through trophy hunts. Killing 272 elephants in Botswana will not control elephant numbers; it will not reduce human-elephant conflict and will not create jobs in regions where opportunities are scarce.

Safari Club International is not a messiah for Africa’s rural communities. Trophy hunting is not African; trophy hunting is a western elitist privilege. Trophy hunting is chauvinistic and colonialist. African governments should stop relying on these manipulative western “donations” that are destroying Africa’s natural heritage.

Appropriate land-use planning including dedicated migratory corridors will aid elephant dispersal and increase the potential for amicable human elephant coexistence. Conservation areas that were not amenable to switching to photography-based tourism should be converted to self-drive tourism that will generate revenue and ensure a counter-poaching presence.

The selective targeting of the biggest tusks by hunters will not encourage the protection of wildlife populations. Hunting is not a population control strategy; it results in undesirable, skewed sex ratios and age structures within elephant populations.

For decades Africans have been fed the myth that trophy hunting is absolutely necessary for sustainable conservation. Trophy hunting’s economic viability is overstated and largely unsubstantiated. Proper governance and a genuine appreciation of the intrinsic value of Africa’s majestic wildlife will sustain conservation and will sustain her people.

“It is time for Botswana to take a stand by setting a precedent of genuine protection and conservation of all African species in order to sustain African ecosystems and economies, before it's too late.”
Beth Hill, Advisor, Nsefu Wildlife.

We request and plead with the government of Botswana to do the right thing. Re-institute the ban. Follow expert advice on controlling human-elephant conflict and install corridors. Take meaningful action on elephant and rhino poaching. Show the world you can do the right thing; the right thing for Botswana, for her people and for her elephants. Killing is not conservation.

Author: Megan Carr, VP Social Media GMFER

Signed

Jen Samuel, President, Elephants DC, USA.

Vincent Ontita, Conservation and Social Justice Advocate, Kenya.

Leslie Olonyi, Duke Law School USA and Environmental Lawyer, Kenya.

Shubert Mwarabu, Community Engagement, GMFER Tanzania.

Maria Mossman, Founder, Action for Elephants, UK and co-founder, GMFER.

Samarrth Khanna, Urban Rewilding, GMFER, Faridabad, India.

Sujeewa Jasinghe, Founder, CES, Sri-Lanka.

Beth Hill, Advisor, Nsefu Wildlife, Zambia and USA.

Jodie Graham, VP Finance, GMFER, USA.

Sudarshani Fernando, Co-Founder, CES, Sri-Lanka.

Mariana Fernandes, Board and Advisory, GMFER, South Africa.

Megan Carr, VP Social Media, GMFER, South Africa.

Happy Bruno, Community Engagement, GMFER Uganda.
Hale Anderson, VP Content and Graphics, GMFER, USA.

Rosemary Alles, President, GMFER, USA.

� HSH Photos Kenya