24 Apr 2019

Mr Justine Ntuane, 72, of Nata is among scores of Batswana whose profound love for farming, particularly the rearing of livestock, has made them to hold on to this old tradition, both as a source of pride and sustainable-livelihood.

A retiree, having toiled for many years working for the government, Mr Ntuane, whose cattle post, Mmadinoga, is nestled between Sepako and Manxotae, was wise enough to use part of his earnings to acquire livestock namely cattle and goats.

He did not want to become a burden on government and has invested in livestock. But like the morning dew, which quickly retreats at the intensity of the piercing rays of the morning sun, Mr Ntuane’s dream of sustainable livelihood through livestock rearing is fast dissipating, thanks to a pride of lions that are killing his livestock.

Narrating his story in an interview recently, he said the horrible state of affairs started three years ago and seem poised to go on unabated.

He said efforts to ask for intervention from relevant law enforcement officers had not borne any fruit.

“These lions force their way into kraals at night and kill our cattle.

As I speak to you now, my 20^th cow was killed last night,” he said, adding that farmers’ hands were tied because following the animals into the backwoods with a view to eliminate them was outlawed.

He said undertaking such as a journey was interpreted as poaching, saying it had left many farmers confused and with little hope.

He and other farmers have tried every trick in the book to try and contain the situation but in vain.

In their last ditch effort to salvage a few herds of cattle left, Mr Ntuane and other farmers resorted to building structures inside kraals on which to waylay the menacing lions at night. 

His only conviction was for government to lift the moratorium on hunting imposed early 2014 to allow for controlled hunting; a conservation method that he said had worked well for Botswana in the past.

He stated that the wild animals’ population had as a result of suspension on hunting, increased greatly and outgrown their natural habitat and were now encroaching on communal areas thus escalating human/wildlife conflict.

At the time, the decision to temporarily ban hunting was necessitated by the evident decline of a number of wildlife species in the country due to multiple factors.

This was after a countrywide aerial survey of 2012 and analysis of trends since 1987.

Mr Ntuane was at wits’ end with people who were opposed to the lifting of the hunting ban. He labeled such people as a disingenuous lot with little regard for Batswana who have fallen victim to the ever rising human/wildlife conflict.

“What about our people who are killed by these animals and have their crops destroyed?” he asked, adding that Botswana was not a vassal state and should not be perceived as such and be allowed to make its own decisions with regard to its wildlife.

How people decided to overlook the fact that Botswana was able to grow and attract huge wildlife populations as a result of her top-notch conservation strategies was mind boggling to Mr Ntuane.

Any opposition to lift the suspension on hunting according to Mr Ntuane smacked of a smear campaign by the Western media and greedy individuals whose primary concern was to line up their pockets at the expense of rural Batswana who have been impoverished by wild animals.

He did not see any reason for panic, especially that any sanction by government to lift the suspension would be regulated as had been the case in many past instances. ENDS