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Botswana: Problem Elephants

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The Voice (Francistown)

COLUMN
11 December 2007
Posted to the web 11 December 2007

Many government officials believe there are too many elephants in Botswana and they would like to be able to make a bit of cash from regular sales of ivory and other cull by-products.

It stands to reason then that they wouldn't be too upset if the proposed sugar plantation in Kasane were to create a need to shoot 'problem' elephants that tried to break through the fence to feast on the sweet plants.

Elephants just love sugar cane, and I'm told by researchers that they have been known to travel over 1000 kilometres to get at the crop, so if the plantation gets the go ahead it won't just be the local population storming the gates.

Obviously, environmentalists would be horrified by this situation, but it would also be a disaster for those wishing to sell off our culled ivory.

In the past, CITES - the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species - has allowed limited sales of southern African ivory because the organisation recognised we have a healthy elephant population, and only sick and truly problem elephants were being culled.

Relevant Links Southern Africa Botswana Sustainable Development Wildlife

If we start shooting the elephants Northern Sugar Holdings draw in from all across the region, future sales windows will certainly be slammed shut.

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