Botswana is reintroducing elephant hunts and is likely to sell licenses to kill the animals at a discount to its neighbors. That could further inflame the controversy that’s threatening a $2 billion tourism industry after a five-year ban on hunting was lifted.
The government will auction licenses to hunting operators for the right to shoot an elephant but is yet to decide on the minimum price it will set, said Kitso Mokaila, the country’s environment minister. Botswana will allow the killing of 158 elephants in trophy hunts this year.
An additional administrative fee of 20,000 pula ($1,834) for each of 72 elephant hunting licenses designated for foreigners has already been agreed on, according to government documents seen by Bloomberg. In neighboring Zimbabwe, the right to shoot an elephant costs at least $21,000.
Botswana has the world’s largest elephant population, with about 130,000 of the animals roaming free nationwide. A growing number of incidents between farmers and elephants, which at times destroy crops and trample villagers to death, prompted the government to lift a hunting ban on wildlife in May. While hunting won’t meaningfully reduce the size of the population, income from the sport can benefit local communities.