Botswana Minister of Environment & Tourism Defends Trophy Hunting

[jpr9954]

Philda Nani Kereng, the Minister of Environment and Tourism for Botswana, had an op-ed defending trophy hunting in her country published in the Daily Mail.

Last month, I attended the funeral of two villagers in my homeland, Botswana. Both were in their teens, tragically killed by charging wild buffalo as they travelled to school and work.

Sadly, this was not an isolated incident.

Just weeks later, I learnt the heartbreaking news that a young father had been killed by an elephant as he walked to his farm in a small village within the Okavango Delta, leaving behind a widow and children.

Burying family members killed by wildlife, or losing entire crops to marauding elephant herds, is all too common in my country. Our lives are inextricably linked to the wild animals who share our home.

Yet it's a reality often lost on well-meaning people living in the West.

For many around the world, African wildlife is a sentimental showreel on a nature documentary.
The full op-ed with pictures is here: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/...-elephant-herd-says-environment-minister.html

 

[lockingblock]

I love hunting in Botswana. It’s an amazing place.

That said, their government is failing to capitalize on a huge block of hunting and conservation.

Look at available Buffalo hunts…great but very few in number and wildly expensive. Elephant numbers are ridiculous and growing exponentially…yet hunts are super expensive and few available.

Lion? WTF…farmers shoot them with shocking regularity and no foreign hunters are allowed to sport hunt them.

The government has the power to turn Botswana into a conservation powerhouse that generates money, jobs, and ensures wildlife is protected.

They have a long way to go.

 

[Hunter4752001]

I think we need to give them credit for taking such a public pro-hunting stance. Yes, they could be improved a lot, but they have certainly come a long way from the previous anti-hunting regime. Personally I wish they would allow the import of hunting handguns as well as rifles, but that's just me.

 

[TheGrayRider]

Thanks for the article. Goo read. Happy hunting, TheGrayRider.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

Kudos to this fearless lady for standing in favor of the pure unfltered truth.

Great Britain is a perfect example of how people in "Developed" countries think that they have a right to control the policies of "Underdeveloped countries" simply because they "Know better".

Until the 1960s, they colonized much of Asia and Africa because they believed that they were superior to us. And after we ceased being their colonies, it turns out that we have gained "Independence" from them only in name.

They are still sticking their noses in our local affairs, such as trying to mandate what WE DO WITH OUR WILDLIFE. This time, on the grounds of “Wildlife Conservation“. These British politicians in their expensive bespoke suits and sitting their fat rears in their air conditioned offices, think that they know far more about wildlife management and conservation than the people like us who actually live there and work on the ground level. Absolutely disgusting.

I sincerely hope that our British hunting brethren sue greedy MPs like Roger Gale and Henry Smith for all they've got. As well as cultist preachers like Eduardo Golcalves and every single animal rights group in existence. They need to be held accountable for their bullying of other nations who are less developed than them.

Properly regulated hunting doesn’t assist poaching. It destroys it. It doesn’t drive animals towards extinction. It saves them from it. That’s why India (post 1972) and Kenya (post 1977) have such a disastrous condition with it’s fauna. While more pro hunting countries like Pakistan and Namibia (and basically every other pro hunting country in Africa and Europe and the Americas) thrive in wildlife (while also having good revenue generated for local communities and wildlife conservation).

These politicians and media hounds can’t (or won’t) understand one sinmple fact- Wildlife conservation isn’t about how a few animals from a particular species feel. It’s about saving the entire species as a whole.

These suited criminals talk a big game. But where are they when a rogue elephant tramples locals ? Or a man eating lion/Royal Bengal tiger claims human victims in the dozens ? Or when crocodiles snatch our children and drag them off in the water ? I’ll tell you where. Sitting far, far away in the safety of an urban city office drinking tea and trying to act like an expert from behind a computer monitor.

Forget problem animals. Have they ever even lifted a finger to fight against commercial poaching ? Let them pick up a gun and participate in anti poaching patrol in the wilds of Africa and Asia. Then, they can be permitted to talk.

Visiting British delegates in the 1970s & 1980s were crying so much about Royal Bengal tiger poaching in the Sundarban mangrove forests. It took me 10 years (and two terms) in order to finally get rid of all the poachers. And then what happens ? These foreign bastards come and start crying about the “Human Rights” of ”Innocent people forcefully driven towards (commercial) poaching in order to feed their starving families”. There really is no winning against this kind of behavior, is there ? It’s either “Poor Animals” or “Poor Poachers”.

I sincerely apologize for the rant. But as former Chief Conservator of Forests for my country, reading all this makes my blood boil. I love wildlife (just as every true hunter must). And I don’t want to see ANY species get extinct. Ever.

 

[TheGrayRider]

Kudos to this fearless lady for standing in favor of the pure unfltered truth.

Great Britain is a perfect example of how people in "Developed" countries think that they have a right to control the policies of "Underdeveloped countries" simply because they "Know better".

Until the 1960s, they colonized much of Asia and Africa because they believed that they were superior to us. And after we ceased being their colonies, it turns out that we have gained "Independence" from them only in name.

They are still sticking their noses in our local affairs, such as trying to mandate what WE DO WITH OUR WILDLIFE. This time, on the grounds of “Wildlife Conservation“. These British politicians in their expensive bespoke suits and sitting their fat rears in their air conditioned offices, think that they know far more about wildlife management and conservation than the people like us who actually live there and work on the ground level. Absolutely disgusting.

I sincerely hope that our British hunting brethren sue greedy MPs like Roger Gale and Henry Smith for all they've got. As well as cultist preachers like Eduardo Golcalves and every single animal rights group in existence. They need to be held accountable for their bullying of other nations who are less developed than them.

Properly regulated hunting doesn’t assist poaching. It destroys it. It doesn’t drive animals towards extinction. It saves them from it. That’s why India (post 1972) and Kenya (post 1977) have such a disastrous condition with it’s fauna. While more pro hunting countries like Pakistan and Namibia (and basically every other pro hunting country in Africa and Europe and the Americas) thrive in wildlife (while also having good revenue generated for local communities and wildlife conservation).

These politicians and media hounds can’t (or won’t) understand one sinmple fact- Wildlife conservation isn’t about how a few animals from a particular species feel. It’s about saving the entire species as a whole.

These suited criminals talk a big game. But where are they when a rogue elephant tramples locals ? Or a man eating lion/Royal Bengal tiger claims human victims in the dozens ? Or when crocodiles snatch our children and drag them off in the water ? I’ll tell you where. Sitting far, far away in the safety of an urban city office drinking tea and trying to act like an expert from behind a computer monitor.

Forget problem animals. Have they ever even lifted a finger to fight against commercial poaching ? Let them pick up a gun and participate in anti poaching patrol in the wilds of Africa and Asia. Then, they can be permitted to talk.

Visiting British delegates in the 1970s & 1980s were crying so much about Royal Bengal tiger poaching in the Sundarban mangrove forests. It took me 10 years (and two terms) in order to finally get rid of all the poachers. And then what happens ? These foreign bastards come and start crying about the “Human Rights” of ”Innocent people forcefully driven towards (commercial) poaching in order to feed their starving families”. There really is no winning against this kind of behavior, is there ? It’s either “Poor Animals” or “Poor Poachers”.

I sincerely apologize for the rant. But as former Chief Conservator of Forests for my country, reading all this makes my blood boil. I love wildlife (just as every true hunter must). And I don’t want to see ANY species get extinct. Ever.

Very well said and written. I printed off your post for future reference. Thank you for your continued service for all wildlife. Happy hunting, TheGrayRider.

 

[Hunt anything]

Hunter Habib, no cause to apologize for the rant, it was well thought out and presented well. All of which needed to be said. I wish others would see and read it but most of them are so close minded it probably wouldn’t make any difference. Cheers!

 

[jpr9954]

Kudos to this fearless lady for standing in favor of the pure unfltered truth.

Great Britain is a perfect example of how people in "Developed" countries think that they have a right to control the policies of "Underdeveloped countries" simply because they "Know better".

Until the 1960s, they colonized much of Asia and Africa because they believed that they were superior to us. And after we ceased being their colonies, it turns out that we have gained "Independence" from them only in name.

They are still sticking their noses in our local affairs, such as trying to mandate what WE DO WITH OUR WILDLIFE. This time, on the grounds of “Wildlife Conservation“. These British politicians in their expensive bespoke suits and sitting their fat rears in their air conditioned offices, think that they know far more about wildlife management and conservation than the people like us who actually live there and work on the ground level. Absolutely disgusting.

I sincerely hope that our British hunting brethren sue greedy MPs like Roger Gale and Henry Smith for all they've got. As well as cultist preachers like Eduardo Golcalves and every single animal rights group in existence. They need to be held accountable for their bullying of other nations who are less developed than them.

Properly regulated hunting doesn’t assist poaching. It destroys it. It doesn’t drive animals towards extinction. It saves them from it. That’s why India (post 1972) and Kenya (post 1977) have such a disastrous condition with it’s fauna. While more pro hunting countries like Pakistan and Namibia (and basically every other pro hunting country in Africa and Europe and the Americas) thrive in wildlife (while also having good revenue generated for local communities and wildlife conservation).

These politicians and media hounds can’t (or won’t) understand one sinmple fact- Wildlife conservation isn’t about how a few animals from a particular species feel. It’s about saving the entire species as a whole.

These suited criminals talk a big game. But where are they when a rogue elephant tramples locals ? Or a man eating lion/Royal Bengal tiger claims human victims in the dozens ? Or when crocodiles snatch our children and drag them off in the water ? I’ll tell you where. Sitting far, far away in the safety of an urban city office drinking tea and trying to act like an expert from behind a computer monitor.

Forget problem animals. Have they ever even lifted a finger to fight against commercial poaching ? Let them pick up a gun and participate in anti poaching patrol in the wilds of Africa and Asia. Then, they can be permitted to talk.

Visiting British delegates in the 1970s & 1980s were crying so much about Royal Bengal tiger poaching in the Sundarban mangrove forests. It took me 10 years (and two terms) in order to finally get rid of all the poachers. And then what happens ? These foreign bastards come and start crying about the “Human Rights” of ”Innocent people forcefully driven towards (commercial) poaching in order to feed their starving families”. There really is no winning against this kind of behavior, is there ? It’s either “Poor Animals” or “Poor Poachers”.

I sincerely apologize for the rant. But as former Chief Conservator of Forests for my country, reading all this makes my blood boil. I love wildlife (just as every true hunter must). And I don’t want to see ANY species get extinct. Ever.

Stealing a couple of concepts from the leftists to their dismay, it is a mixture of cultural imperialism and neo-colonialism which is a fancy way of saying "we know better than you poor, uneducated peasants". For all their high minded talk, they still look down upon anyone not like them.

 

[Altitude sickness]

Thank you for your post Hunter Habib.

 

[PerH]

A minister for many others to follow

Stand up to the ara racist crowd like that Packham and his many mosleyists that sadly coolaid what they say and give them money better spent elsewhere ,or used at the local farmers shop and gunstore .

 

[SikaMDhunter]

is a mixture of cultural imperialism and neo-colonialism which is a fancy way of saying "we know better than you poor, uneducated peasants"

It's colonialism. As it has always been and whether the times promote a populist left government, as they do now, or an authoritarian right government, as in the past, the masses have been brainwashed into believing they know best.

 

[fourfive8]

Hope she has the support to stand up to the powers that be who may have more clout than she has. The outside force to watch is China who can out bid, out corrupt and out bribe the best of intentions.

 

[Landman]

Kudos to this fearless lady for standing in favor of the pure unfltered truth.

Great Britain is a perfect example of how people in "Developed" countries think that they have a right to control the policies of "Underdeveloped countries" simply because they "Know better".

Until the 1960s, they colonized much of Asia and Africa because they believed that they were superior to us. And after we ceased being their colonies, it turns out that we have gained "Independence" from them only in name.

They are still sticking their noses in our local affairs, such as trying to mandate what WE DO WITH OUR WILDLIFE. This time, on the grounds of “Wildlife Conservation“. These British politicians in their expensive bespoke suits and sitting their fat rears in their air conditioned offices, think that they know far more about wildlife management and conservation than the people like us who actually live there and work on the ground level. Absolutely disgusting.

I sincerely hope that our British hunting brethren sue greedy MPs like Roger Gale and Henry Smith for all they've got. As well as cultist preachers like Eduardo Golcalves and every single animal rights group in existence. They need to be held accountable for their bullying of other nations who are less developed than them.

Properly regulated hunting doesn’t assist poaching. It destroys it. It doesn’t drive animals towards extinction. It saves them from it. That’s why India (post 1972) and Kenya (post 1977) have such a disastrous condition with it’s fauna. While more pro hunting countries like Pakistan and Namibia (and basically every other pro hunting country in Africa and Europe and the Americas) thrive in wildlife (while also having good revenue generated for local communities and wildlife conservation).

These politicians and media hounds can’t (or won’t) understand one sinmple fact- Wildlife conservation isn’t about how a few animals from a particular species feel. It’s about saving the entire species as a whole.

These suited criminals talk a big game. But where are they when a rogue elephant tramples locals ? Or a man eating lion/Royal Bengal tiger claims human victims in the dozens ? Or when crocodiles snatch our children and drag them off in the water ? I’ll tell you where. Sitting far, far away in the safety of an urban city office drinking tea and trying to act like an expert from behind a computer monitor.

Forget problem animals. Have they ever even lifted a finger to fight against commercial poaching ? Let them pick up a gun and participate in anti poaching patrol in the wilds of Africa and Asia. Then, they can be permitted to talk.

Visiting British delegates in the 1970s & 1980s were crying so much about Royal Bengal tiger poaching in the Sundarban mangrove forests. It took me 10 years (and two terms) in order to finally get rid of all the poachers. And then what happens ? These foreign bastards come and start crying about the “Human Rights” of ”Innocent people forcefully driven towards (commercial) poaching in order to feed their starving families”. There really is no winning against this kind of behavior, is there ? It’s either “Poor Animals” or “Poor Poachers”.

I sincerely apologize for the rant. But as former Chief Conservator of Forests for my country, reading all this makes my blood boil. I love wildlife (just as every true hunter must). And I don’t want to see ANY species get extinct. Ever.

Well Said!