07 Dec 2022

Private individuals who are in possession of wildlife trophies accessed through hunting are not allowed to sell trophies but can keep them for personal effects, Minister of Environment and Tourism Ms Philda Kereng has said.In response to a parliamentary question from Maun East MP Mr Goretetse Kekgonegile, the Minister noted that individuals who have trophies through legal award could dispose or sell them only if they have trophy dealer’s license which gave them the authority to carry out the business of a trophy dealer.

She said currently, she was not aware of any individuals who were in possession of unlicensed elephant trophies adding that those individuals holding unlicensed wildlife trophies would be contravening Section 64 of Conservation and National Parks Act of 1992. She said the ministry had issued several individuals in the country with a trophy dealer’s license which allowed them to sell wild-life related trophies. 

“These licenses are not transferable,” she said. 

Ms Kereng also explained that those individuals who apply for legal permit to hunt were at the time of authorization informed by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks the type of permit that applies for the wildlife trophies they would derive from the legal hunts.

Mr Kekgonegile wanted to know if the minister was aware of some individuals who were in possession of unlicensed elephant trophies, when the ministry intends to license these trophies for sale purposes as well as the mitigating factors put forward to avoid the re-occurrence of such scenarios. ends