A committee appointed by Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi to review a hunting ban on elephants has handed its recommendations on the issue.
Former president Ian Khama imposed the hunting ban in 2014 after surveys showed declining wildlife populations in the north of the country.
An unnamed government spokesperson said Masisi will take the committee’s recommendations into consideration.
“We recommend … a legal framework that will enable the growth of a safari hunting industry and manage the country’s elephant population within the historic range,” Frans Van Der Westhuizen who chaired the committee was quoted by Stock Daily Dish as saying.
Botswana wants to lift the hunting ban on big game to avoid the growing conflict between humans and wildlife.
The country is now home to 130,000 elephants.
Botswana’s travel and tourism economy grew 3.4% to exceed $2.5 billion in 2018.
It now contributes almost one in every seven dollars in the country’s economy, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council.
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