Canned lion hunting in Botwana?
Ian Michler
I have for a number of years
been warning that canned
hunting is on its way to
Botswana. After taking a
thorough look at the latest
export and import statistics
for lion Panther leo issued
by CITES in South Africa, I
am now almost certain that
these and other associated
practices are already taking
place, ***or*** are even
closer to being open for
business.
Under the Gross Import Trade
Report: Captive-bred Sources
section (www.cites.org)
there are 17 lions listed as
having been imported by
Botswana during the 2008/9
period. This figure is up
from three lions in 2006/7
and 12 in 2007/8. What is
Botswana doing importing
captive-bred lions, let
alone 17 of them in one
year?
The answer may lie in the
following two facts.
Firstly, Botswana has one of
the healthiest surviving
wild lion populations
anywhere on the continent,
so there is certainly no
need for them to be
importing lions, especially
not captive-bred ones, for
conservation purposes.
Secondly, while trophy
hunting is still practiced
in a number of concessions
around the country, lion
hunting has been banned
since the 2008 season. Put
these two issues together
and there is every reason to
be asking whether Botswana
is about to become the next
canned hunting and
predator-breeding hotspot?
By-products of these
practices are the game farms
and amusement parks that
will start offering petting
and walking-with-lions
experiences.
For those involved, Botswana
has a number of factors that
contribute to making it a
suitable place to set up
operations. Being neighbours
with South Africa has
obvious benefits with regard
to access and transport
costs. But more
significantly, there are two
regions in the country,
Ghanzi and Tuli, that have
private property rights
(almost 95 per cent of
Botswana falls under either
communal *or* state land
title), and these regions
have a strong historical
association with hunting.
There are also hunters
operating in Botswana that
hail from regions in South
Africa that are notorious
for canned hunting and
predator breeding.
It is also worth bearing in
mind that the predator
breeding and canned hunting
industries in South Africa
are under legislative
scrutiny with the
possibility of a curtailment
in activities looming. And
the hunting industry in
Botswana would certainly be
feeling the impacts of
recent reductions in quota
and concessions.
Given all these links, it is
quite conceivable that lions
are being imported to be
used as breeding stock
and/*or* to be shot in
confined areas for their
trophies. Given the size of
most private farms in the
country, the lions are most
likely offered as
‘put-and-take’ hunts. In
this form of killing,
specific animals are ordered
for mane size and colour
over the Internet, and after
being drugged, are moved
into an enclosure the day
before the hunter arrives.
I encourage the Botswanan
government and its wildlife
authorities to take a look
at what may be happening
behind the fences of private
farms. And if any operation
is offering the soft-touch
options – petting and
walking for example –
participants should ask some
serious questions and take a
much closer look.