Dereck Joubert is unrelenting in his mission to scare away tourists from Botswana with a desire to hurt the tourism industry but his antics aren’t going unnoticed by government.
The National Geographic film maker has celebrated some of his follower potential tourists who have vowed not to set their foot on Botswana soil.
In one of his latest Facebook posts, he has defended his stance saying the latest US poll conducted by the Remington Research Group for Human Society International against trophy hunting and culling of elephants supported him.
In his anti trophy campaign Joubert has also attracted some animal welfare fanatics who have threatened that they will not come to Batswana if government goes ahead with the lifting of trophy hunting ban.
When asked why he was promoting a US poll as opposed to a local one, Joubert said: “It matters only because Americans make up the second greatest number of foreign tourists to Botswana and generally make up the majority of trophy hunters. It is definitely up to Botswana to decide, but there will be consequences if culling and hunting go ahead and it is good for people to be aware.”
The Environment, Wildlife and Tourism Ministry Permanent Secretary (PS), Thato Raphaka has said government has been monitoring Joubert’s tirade for a long time.
“We are aware of his communications and we have been keeping an eye on him. His anti-trophy hunting has a potential to sabotage development of this country and the tourism sector which is the second largest revenue earner,” said Raphaka.
The PS said government suspicion is that his smear campaign against Botswana is meant to satisfy his own personal interests.
A close friend to former President Ian Khama, Joubert is on a tirade even threatening that Botswana’s move to lift hunting ban will have serious consequences since most of his campaigns are targeted towards American tourists who prefer Botswana.
In his anti trophy campaign Jourbet has attracted a number of criticism against his campaign from locals and international conservationists while he has also attracted some animal welfare fanatics who have threatened that they will not come to Batswana if government goes ahead with the lifting of trophy hunting.