Botswana's President Lt. Gen. Ian Khama announced in his State of the Nation address on November 5th that commercial hunting of wildlife on public lands will end in 2014. He said in part that, "the shooting of wild game purely for sport and trophies is no longer compatible with our commitment to preserve local fauna as a national treasure, which should be treated as such." If only other African nations could reach the same humane conclusion. But even a conservationist must admit that Botswana is relatively rich in resources and that abundance facilitates such a visionary policy change. Recent research relied upon by the government showed that in the Okovango Delta has catastrophic species loss over the past fifteen years. Eleven species have declined by 61% since a survey in 1996 of the Ngamiland district. Safari outfits and hunters are outraged, but the decision
has been expected for some time. Lion hunting was suspended in 2007. If the President's words are read closely, hunting will evidently be allowed to continue on private land. How the ban will be implemented in practice will evolve over time. Nevertheless it would be a tragedy if Botswana's trophy hunting ban deteriorates into the abhorrent practice of canned hunts so common in South Africa and elsewhere.
Green Kudos to Botswana!
