The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism, Edmond Moabi, has allayed fears that the recent government announcement to ban hunting in the country will affect vulnerable people.
He said such people, identified by relevant government departments, will continue to be given special hunting licences even after the banning of hunting.
“Those deserving such licences will continue be provided with them even after the ban expected to start in 2013 and designed to reverse the present trend of depletion of wildlife,” he said.
Special hunting licences have over the years been given to vulnerable people living in remote areas, such as those living around game parks in settlements around the country.
There had been fears that the vulnerable people will also be affected by the ban, which was first announced by President Ian Khama while addressing a kgotla meeting last month.
He said that safari hunting will also be affected by the ban.
On why the government has taken the decision to ban hunting, he said it was after a realization that wildlife population was declining at an alarming rate.
He said the move is intended to reverse the trend. The ban, he also said, will allow the government to observe and evaluate wildlife population so that its utilization does not affect their population.
Wildlife is the back bone of the country’s tourism industry, which is the second foreign exchange earner for the country.
