to think the Botswana government are being VVVVU

[BrizzleMint]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-47330414

They are proposing lifting the ban on elephant hunting, it's a possibility that elephant meat could be used in pet food

A report recommends that:

the hunting ban should be lifted
the elephant population should be managed "within its historic range"
wildlife migratory routes "not beneficial to the country's conservation efforts" should be closed
game ranches be demarcated to "serve as buffers between communal and wildlife areas"
"regular but limited elephant culling" should be introduced

This is awful

I think so but it seems like only you and I think so.

Because they an endangered species according to the WWF

WTF did sharedthismonth post ??
Oh & Bump

No idea but I've seen sharedthismonth being a dick on other threads recently, I think they are a PBP?

Will nobody think of the elephants?

How can elephants need culling?!

I think they said it's because the elephants are a lot in that area, and they'd been destroying houses and some people including children have been killed? It's very remote areas I think they said, but people still live there.

I don't know much about moving elephants, but if they can do it to take them to sanctuaries, zoos etc, can't they take some to other areas instead? It'd be nicer for the elephants than a zoo and places like that, because they could take an entire family instead of just stealing one away and making them all sad and it'd be good for the area because lots can go at once.

I'm sure there must be a way that humans can live close to them and they're both happy without killing them off.

Maybe trump could help them build a wall around their village

Elephants in Botswana need culling because the government and cpnservationists there have been so successful in conserving and protecting the. Every environment has a carrying capacity for large herbivores and I guess their's is saturated. So they can cull them, or let them degrade the savannah then starve (or more realistically move onto farmland and eat the crops). Or do you think they should reintroduce big game hunting.
As for eating them, if you are going to cull and you're population is short on protein then it's a shame to waste the meat.
The Botswanan government/people has shown themselves remarkably enlightened when it comes to wildlife conservation (far better than the UK). They should be trusted to manage their own affairs.

As for eating them, if you are going to cull and you're population is short on protein then it's a shame to waste the meat.

Fine if people are going to eat them but dog food?!

I don't think it's possible to successfully move elephants, don't they have traditional 'migration' routes? I'm not a pachyderm expert.

Or do you think they should reintroduce big game hunting

Of course not ,why would you think that ?
And I agree with you @BrizzleMint ,dog food ?
I wouldn't feed it to mine

I lived in Botswana over ten years ago and worked for the government. They are incredibly aware of conservation compared to the UK. Wildlife is probably their second or third source of money; they will not have made this call out of stupidity or lightly.

It is incredibly difficult to move wild elephants into another wild setting. several attempts have failed ( Botswana sent elephants to South Africa when I was there - it was an expensive disaster in elephant lives, money and other resources).

Boringly, it’s actually published ( or at least used to be) in the Botswana strategic plan exactly what and how many animals will be culled or sold or how much they will sell the opportunity to kill an animal. I vaguely remember that in 2002, it was $100k to tranquillise a lion and a lot more to kill a lion ( only two lions could be killed in 2002).

Also as an anecdote, the pet food I gave my dog and cat which cost be about a £1 for a tray of tins in Botswana cost about £5 per tin in Harrods.

My GF Lived & worked in Swaziland for many years & loved the elephants ,he used to talk about them as such majestic creatures .
It's sad that it's coming to this because it seems there isn't enough food for them & they are encroaching in farmers land

It's just so uncomfortable to think about. For any animal really, but especially for such intelligent ones.

It's been shown that they mourn their dead and even carry the remains away.

And they even have empathy for complete stranger elephants that they come across laying dead somewhere. The parents, children etc of specific elephants that died show more grief than the others and spend more time with the the remains grieving.

Very, very sad to think about. They'll know what's happening and they'll be scared, and they'll mourn.

As books and watcher say, it's needed unfortunately. And thanks both for that info, it's "better" (not sure if better is the right word) that it's for a real reason and will benefit them in the long run as well as all other wildlife, and not just because they broke some things and are becoming annoying for humans around there. It's still not nice, but it's a bit better. I think so anyway.

Botswana has one of the most stable and respected political system and economies in Africa, so as other posters said, they wouldn’t do this lightly.

If I had small children and they were putting them and the crops I had to feed them in danger, I’m not really sure I’d think they were cute little heffalumps. I saw the aftermath of a fatal bull elephant attack on TV once, the elephant had literally pulverised a rangers supposedly reinforced Land Rover and killed at least one person in it.

If you’re living in slightly shaky and insecure housing that would be a worry.

I think sometimes when humanity and nature are at odds, humanity has to come first.

You wouldnt feed your dog elephant meat? What would you feed them? Meat produced on agricultural land - land that was once home to wildlife but from which wildlife has been eradicated in order to graze sheep and cattle? Recommending the Botswana take more land away from wildlife to increase cattle production to better feed dogs beef seems counterintuitive to me. And not better for elephants either.

If I had small children and they were putting them and the crops I had to feed them in danger, I’m not really sure I’d think they were cute little heffalumps.

I know they are anything but. It seems a shame that such majestic animals are being culled, but then I'm not a fan of culling whether it is deer (culled locally to protect some species of plants ), badgers or elephants.

Maybe there are better reasons for culling the elephants but it still makes me sad. I've watched a lot of documentaries on them, they fascinate me.