Botswana banned hunting of elephants in 2014, under the leadership of President Ian Khama. While elephants are gunned down in other African countries, such as Zambia, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe, they have been safe in Botswana (although they are still victims of poaching). Now, as a result of pressure from farmers whose crops are sometimes trampled and eaten by hungry elephants, Botswana's parliament has passed a motion to reconsider the ban on elephant hunting.

Killing elephants is neither a good way nor the only way to protect farms. African elephants are threatened with extinction. The African continent supported millions of elephants a century ago but less than half a million survive today.

Tell the government of Botswana that it would be a grave mistake to allow hunting of elephants to resume and that methods for reducing conflicts with farmers must be utilized and further developed. Botswana can attract environmentally conscious tourists by protecting elephants and use funds received from taxes and fees on tourists to compensate farmers for damage to crops.

For more information:

1. Article on motion in Botswana Parliament:
https://www.express.co.uk/news/nature/989585/Elephants-in-the-firing-line-as-Botswana-moves-to-lift-ban-on-hunting

2. Article on 5 ways to scare elephants away from farms
http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20141204-five-ways-to-scare-off-elephants

3. Save The Elephants information about human-elephant conflicts
http://www.savetheelephants.org/our-projects/#ste-portfolio|humans-elephants|1

4. Article on Elephant-Chili Project in Tanzania:
https://news.mongabay.com/wildtech/2016/09/farmers-lead-the-way-to-reduce-elephant-crop-raiding-in-tanzania/

5. Article on Beehive Fences to Keep Elephants Away:
https://www.wired.com/2011/07/beehive-fences-block-elephants/

6. Article on the population of African elephants
https://www.cnn.com/2016/08/31/africa/great-elephant-census/index.html