Peace 4 Animals, WAN, & Its Partners Secure $1 Million Dollar Pledge For Conservation & Protection Of Elephants In Botswana Contingent Upon Government Reinstating Hunting Ban

Animal welfare organization Peace 4 Animals, WAN, and its partners have secured a pledge of one million dollars for the conservation and protection of elephants and other wildlife in Botswana if the government reinstates the ban on hunting the iconic species and other threatened and endangered wildlife.

News of the fund towards Botswana’s elephant and wildlife conservation comes after the Government of Botswana confirmed last month that they were lifting the temporary ban on hunting, which went into effect in January of 2014. Tragically, there are only an estimated 135,000 elephants remaining on the continent.

“There is no justifiable reason to allow the hunting and killing of elephants and other threatened species; especially in Botswana where people worldwide travel to have the privilege of viewing these majestic creatures who are roaming free in their natural habitat,” said Katie Cleary, founder of Peace 4 Animals and WAN. “We were appalled and saddened that the government of Botswana made the devastating decision which puts threatened elephants and other endangered wildlife at an even greater risk of becoming extinct. It is for this reason that we, along with our Peace 4 Animals’ partners, have secured a pledge of one million dollars towards Botswana’s conservation efforts which is contingent upon the government reversing their decision to lift the ban.”

“Botswana is in a position to lead elephant conservation efforts and we believe that this donation if the hunting ban remains intact will go a long way toward protecting their wildlife population,” concluded Cleary.

Citing the need to “manage” the population of elephants and its “impact” on farmers’ livelihoods, the controversial decision was made after President Mokgweetsi Masisi recently reviewed a report compiled by a special committee that he formed in June of last year to reconsider hunting in Botswana again.

It was speculated at the time that the report recommended that the hunting ban be lifted to “create growth of the “safari hunting” industry and “manage” Botswana’s elephant population within its historic range.” However, many tourists visit Botswana to see elephants in their natural habitat and are unlikely to visit with the hunting ban lifted.

Tragically, as per the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the population of elephants across Africa has decreased by an estimated 111,000 to 415,000, largely due to poaching for their ivory. The devastating effects to Africa’s elephants will become even greater now that the ban has been lifted.

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