On 22 February 2024, 17 Community Trusts in Botswana along with the Ngamiland Council of NGOs (NCONGO) expressed their deep concern with a campaign advocating for a ban on hunting trophy imports into the United Kingdom (UK) that will negatively affect their livelihoods and wildlife conservation efforts. These Trusts are democratically elected entities speaking on behalf of their respective communities that live alongside elephants and other wildlife species in Botswana.
In less than a week from today, at CITES (COP 19), hosted by Panama City, Panama from 14 to 25 November, the Conference is expected to order a blanket ban on elephant hunting and ivory imports.
Former colonial powers seeking to pass laws that threaten the rights and livelihoods of rural African communities and their wildlife, need to consider this impact and hear what Africans have to say about it first.
As the UK parliament consider bans on hunting trophy imports, community leaders representing millions of rural Africans have launched an official complaint against one of the key players in the campaigns against trophy hunting.