WILDLIFE activists are taking aim at Botswana after it auctioned off £30,000 licences allowing trophy hunters to gun down its elephants.
They say the shocking move – which will let six wealthy shooters kill 10 animals each – even risks speeding up the extinction of the species.
The EMS Foundation – which works to protect elephants – tweeted: “Shame on you, President Masisi – we will not forget.”
The permit sell off was arranged by Auction It Ltd on behalf of Mokgweetsi Masisi’s government on Friday.
The packages were purchased by expedition operators which will then sell them to individual trophy hunters at a profit.
Officials in Botswana lifted a ban on hunting elephants last May claiming human-elephant conflict and the negative impact on livelihoods was increasing.
Many rural communities believe a return to commercial hunting will help keep the elephant population away from their villages.
But critics fear it could also drive away luxury-safari goers who are vehemently opposed to any kind of hunting.
Ross Harvey, an environmental economist in South Africa, told the BBC: “There is no scientific evidence to support the view of there being too many elephants.
“We know that Botswana’s elephant numbers haven’t actually increased over the last five years, we have a stable population. Elephants are critical to Botswana’s ecology.”
And Eduardo Goncalves, founder of the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting, said selective hunting is taking a devastating toll on the species.
“By targeting the biggest and strongest animals, it leaves the weaker, smaller animals behind,” he said.
“This means the best genes are being lost, so the species will be less able to adapt to accelerating climate change, it will be more prone to disease, and the risk of extinction is greater.”
