Botswana is urging UK parliamentarians to shelve or amend a bill that would ban the importation of wild animals’ body parts, like lion pelts, elephant tusks or zebra hides.
“It affects our business at home, the business around governance of our wildlife resources,” Environment Minister Philda Nani Kereng told the BBC’s Africa Daily podcast.
British MP Henry Smith told the BBC the law was intended to protect endangered species and that there were concerns about the source of money trophy hunters pay to kill animals.
But Ms Kereng, who is leading a delegation to London to lobby MPs like Mr Smith, said they needed to consult countries that would be affected – and invited the MPs to come to Botswana.
She said that in Botswana, which has a big elephant population, trophy hunting brought in much-needed funds to help communities living in close quarters with wildlife.
And in Botswana’s case hunting was well managed, there was transparency about how the money was spent and it prevented poaching, she said.
“Over the past year, through the community hunting quota, the communities received about £2m ($2.6m) in one hunting season,” Ms Kereng said.
“Poaching will be incentivised if people don’t see the value. People will lose tolerance for wildlife,” she warned.
Botswana MP Polson Majaga, travelling with the environment minister, said the money given to his 25,000 constituents, who live over a vast area often in competition with wild animals, was vital.
“Amend it [the bill] so I can take care of my people,” he told the BBC, adding that the money raised was used to build fences around farms and make solar lights.
In April, Botswana successfully lobbied enough member countries of the Convention on Endangered Species of Fauna and Wildlife (Cites), which regulates the trade, to vote against proposed stricter protections for elephants, which would have introduced a ban on trophy hunting.