No one needs ivory but the animal born with it. Humans do not need an elephants’ tusks or the horn of a rhino. Yet, they feel entitled to it, and they go to devastating lengths to acquire it. The ivory trade operates because of hunters and poachers who brutally kill elephants in the wild for […]
Tag: Botswana
Botswana cancels hunters’ licences for killing elephant
Botswana has cancelled the licences of two professional hunters who shot dead a research elephant. Michael Lee Potter and Kevin Sharp had voluntarily surrendered their hunting licences, a government statement said. Botswana lifted a ban on elephant hunting in May, citing growing conflict between humans and the animals. However the elephant, which was shot last […]
Botswana to Start Issuing Trophy Hunting Licenses in December
GABORONE – Botswana’s president announced on Monday the government will by December start issuing trophy hunting licences after it controversially scrapped a five-year ban on the practice, and angered international conservationists. President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s government in May removed the moratorium, just a year after he succeeded Ian Khama, an avid environmentalist, who had introduced a […]
More than 50 elephants starve to death in Zimbabwe drought
At least 55 elephants have starved to death in the past two months in Zimbabwe’s biggest national park as a serious drought forces animals to stray into nearby communities in search of food and water, authorities say. “The problem is real, the situation is dire,” said National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority spokesman Tinashe Farawo. […]
US to import baby elephants from Zimbabwe despite uproar
US zoos now plan to import baby elephants from Zimbabwe, undeterred by the international furore over their 2016 import of 18 wild elephants from Swaziland. The US Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) media liaison, Rob Vernon, has confirmed “knowledge of a possible (elephant) import by AZA members and others,” but denied knowledge of which […]
Botswana condemned for lifting ban on hunting elephants
Conservationists have reacted with outrage and concern to a decision by Botswana to lift its ban on elephant hunting. The southern African country said the move was justified by an increase in population and its impact on farmers’ livelihoods. “The whole world is turning away from hunting. It is increasingly seen as an archaic practice. […]
Trophy Hunter Gets Eaten by Crocodiles
Scott Van Zyl was the owner of SS Pro Safaris, a South African canned hunting facility that also organized trips to Africa so trophy hunters could kill magnificent animals and display them in their homes. In a weird twist of fate, Van Zyl became the hunted earlier this month during a Zimbabwe safari. After he […]
POLL: Should the culling of elephants in Botswana be allowed?
CHOBE NATIONAL PARK, Botswana — As we travel by jeep through the mainly mopane scrub of northern Botswana, along the Linyanti River, signs of the significant presence of an iconic heavyweight are evident. Knocked-over trees litter the earth, many with the bark stripped off their trunks. This is the work of the African savanna elephant, […]