26 Jul 2018

Many people from various parts of Ngamiland region have called on government to introduce culling of elephants to manage their ever growing population.

This came to light at the National Elephant Action Plan consultation meeting that was held in Maun on July 24.

Kgosi Batsile Lempadi of Shakawe said there was a need to reintroduce hunting quota system since elephant destruction was still worrisome as their population has trebled beyond what was anticipated.

Kgosi Lempadi said elephants destroyed farms, properties and also claimed people’s lives in his area.

A farmer in Maun, Mr Othata Dikobe said there was a need to reduce the elephant population.

He said elephants had turned people in the Ngamiland region who relied on agriculture to paupers.

Mr Dikobe said Botswana should move from wildlife based tourism and explore other tourism alternatives like other countries.

Some of the attendees also suggested finding markets for live elephants and elephant meat as a way of managing the population.

Ms Pauline John of Seronga said government should consider taming elephants as an alternative tourism attraction as well as rearing by people for domestic purposes.

She said government should also explore a local market for elephant meat since it is consumed in some communities.

Mr Boo Xuma of Tsodilo Community Trust pointed out the need to sensitise communities affected by elephants about the benefits of wildlife to achieve conservation and co-existence.

Deputy permanent secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism, Mr Felix Monggae said the consultations were a step to get communities affected by the animals to have a say in mapping a strategy to address the challenges brought by elephants.

Mr Monggae said the ministry was aware of continuous challenges posed by elephants to the communities such as crop raiding, damage to property, injuries to people and fatalities.

He however noted that the tourism sector relied mainly on wildlife for revenue generation hence the need for communities and government to map a management plan for elephants.

He said the elephant population has grown positively in Botswana currently at about 210 000 while some countries in some parts of Africa had experienced decline over the years.

Mr Monggae said Botswana also had the largest population of elephants in Africa.

He however said the largest population of elephants in Botswana were found outside the protected areas, hence they threaten communities.

Due to their population growth, elephants were now found in parts of Botswana where they were not common in the past.

Further, Mr Monggae said people’s submissions would be taken into consideration in the next consultation meeting, which would include experts from international bodies. ENDS