In a bid to deal with declining animal species in the country, Botswana’s Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism has reiterated government position that there will be a temporary ban on the hunting of wild animals in January 2014.

Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Neil Fitt said that “no quotas, licenses, or permits will be issued” for hunting of Part I and Part II Schedule game animals as listed in the wildlife Conservation and National Parks Act.

However, he said licenses will continue to be issued for game birds in Part III of the same Act subject to conditions to be determined by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks. Hunting in registered game ranches will not be affected by the ban.

“The decision to temporarily ban hunting has been necessitated by available information which indicates that several species in the country are showing declines. The causes of the decline are likely due to a combination of factors such as anthropogenic impacts, including illegal off take and habital fragmentation or loss,” said the ministry.

Fitt said the suspension of hunting will allow the Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism to work with all relevant stakeholders in understanding the causes of the decline and where possible to put in place remedial measures to reverse the trend.

“My ministry will continue to monitor wildlife trends using suitable methodologies and regularly update the public on the status of the wildlife resource”.

The Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) recently released the results of a countrywide aerial survey in response to a number of wildlife management challenges, including a severe drought in the 1980s which resulted in high wildlife mortalities and range land degradation.

The DWNP carried out the dry season aerial survey from 6th August to 17th November 2012 covering the whole country. The survey presents population estimates of animals counted in Botswana’s administrative districts and Protected Areas, as well as distribution patterns and population trends for the last 20 years.

Observations were made on 26 animal species including buffalo, duiker, eland, elephant, gemsbok, giraffe, hartebeest, hippo, impala, kudu, lechwe, ostrich, roan, sable, sitatunga, springbok, steenbok, tsessebe, warthog, waterbuck, wildebeest and zebra. The survey also included cattle, donkey, horse, sheep and goats.

The survey found out that the elephant population increased significantly as it was estimated at 207 545, with a 297% change between 1992 and 2012. A highly significant upward trend was observed in Chobe National Park and Moremi Game Reserve, while numbers were also building up in Makgadikgadi and Nxai Pans National Parks. Another species with a significant upward trend was hippo, although this species generally tends to be under-counted by aerial surveys and may not yield reliable estimates. There were upward trends for all other species except lechwe; sable; sitatunga; springbok; and tsessebe. Those trends were, however, not statistically significant.

With regards to species that have raised concern, the lechwe declined by 59% between 1992 and 2012 while springbok and tsessebe declined by 71% and 79% respectively for the same period. The decrease in lechwe numbers was highly significant in Moremi Game Reserve, with a similar trend for springbok in Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Although tsessebe numbers decreased throughout its range, the trends in Chobe National Park and Moremi Game Reserve were not statistically significant.