In 2014, the government of Botswana put a trophy hunting ban in place.  Due to this ban, elephants from bordering countries such as Namibia and Angola came to Botswana seeking refuge.  Today, one third of the African elephant population reside in Botswana. 
 
Now the government is considering lifting the trophy hunting ban. There are reports of citizens living in northern Botswana that have grown hostile towards elephants because the elephants are devouring crops leaving farmers with a loss of profit.  Other reports have shown that safari hunting can generate economic growth for the country.  However, research has shown that photo-tourism is much more lucrative than the hunting industry.  Suffice to say there are always solutions to human-wildlife conflict, trophy hunting should not be part of that solution.   
 
Elephants are currently getting killed every 15 minutes by poachers and are already fast approaching a pre-extinction phase.  Losing elephants to trophy hunting will affect the lives of other wildlife that depend on elephants, degrade the ecosystem, and diminish tourism generated income that comes from people who want to see the wildlife alive, not dead.  This leaves no room for a lift on the ban. 
 
With your help, we can tell the government of Botswana to maintain the ban on trophy hunting and to find other ways to boost the economy and help farmers protect their crops. 
 
You can click on the link below to leave a message on The Ministry of the Environment’s Facebook homepage to keep the ban in place; The Ministry of the Environment Facebook Page

Likewise, you can also email The Ministry of the Environment, Wildlife and Tourism and express your opinion as well;  Ministry of the Environment, Wildlife and Tourism 

Again, I would like to thank you for your continued support in being a voice for the wildlife!
 
Nicole Rojas
Wild For Change