Botswana battles to lure non-hunters
Date: 12 January 2004
Source: BBC
Author: Briony Hale
The small airstrip at Kasane fills up with private jets between April and September.
They belong to American hunters - the traditional tourists to Botswana.
It is a lucrative business for Botswana - with hotels and camps catering for hunters charging in excess of $1,000 a night, while the privilege of shooting a lion costs more than $3,000.
But, after 30 trophy lions were sold off to be shot in 2001, the government has vowed to end lion hunting and concentrate their efforts on luring a less aggressive breed of tourist.
The reason for the change in policy is simple. The lions are in danger of extinction.
In a recent study of lion conservation, which concentrated on fieldwork in Zimbabwe and Botswana, wildlife expert Professor David Macdonald found a "shocking" decline in the number of lions, a reduction of about 90% since the early 1980s.
An expensive hobby
Shooting fees:
Lion - $3,300
Hippo - $1,300
Buffalo - $1,250
Ostrich - $950
Baboon - $200
Other fees:
Daily fee - $1,100
Dip/pack trophies - $1,800
Hunting license - $3,200
Rifle permit - $200
source: Hunters Africa
Mr Macdonald found that being shot - either by hunters or by farmers protecting their livestock - was by far the greatest risk that the lions face.
In future years, the nature of the killer is likely to change: Botswana's lions are suffering from FIV, the feline equivalent of HIV.
"You can see the lions wasting away just like you can when people have Aids," explains Daniel Mughogho, head of research at the Department of Wildlife.
"It has killed many lions here in Botswana but we'll start to see the real impact over the next 10 years," he warns.
In the north of the country, where the vast majority of Botswana's lions live, 70% of the lions are thought to be infected.
The decline in numbers of lions is obvious to the safari guides.
Presley Mbeha, a safari guide in Botswana's Chobe park, says there were about 45 lions along the riverside last year. This year there are only 25.
One of the park's prides with 14 beasts was last seen heading towards Zimbabwe.
Guides have recently only been able to spot six lions together, with the others presumed to have been killed or wounded.
The poachers come in search of other animals, primarily for food, explains Presley, and the lions are shot at as well - either for sport or for safety.
Botswana also points the finger at its other neighbour, Namibia, where farmers are still shooting the lions in order to protect their livestock.
The accumulation of cattle is the traditional way to invest money and ensure children have a secure livelihood in both Namibia and Botswana.
The government decided to make the shooting of lions illegal in 2001, and instead set up a system to recompense farmers for each animal they lost.
But Mr Mughogho says the system is not working, with no way to enforce the law or prove that livestock has indeed been killed by lions.
The battle to save the lions is all part of Botswana's desperate need to develop its tourism industry.
Aside from diamonds - the finite source of Botswana's riches - the country cannot boast of any other industry that has significantly contributed to the economy.
Louis Nchindo, managing director of the country's diamond company, is critical of his country's failure to capitalise on tourists.
Many guide books reviewing Africa's Safaris complain that Botswana is too expensive.
And only about two million tourists a year choose to visit Botswana - that's nearly four times less than neighbouring South Africa.
"The philosophy of managing hunters has persisted," says Mr Nchindo, who is now building a new hotel in a bid to attract those tourists looking for a cheaper holiday.
"Our tour operators have been spoilt by the hunters: they still believe they can charge the kind of money that suggests the animals belong to the visitors rather than to our country," he says.
The country has suffered because Zimbabwe is the traditional point of entry - the Chobe national park is only a short drive from Victoria Falls.
As many tourists avoid Zimbabwe, so Botswana is also being crossed off the list of destinations.
And the moratorium on shooting lions - the prize of the hunters - is undermining the more traditional breed of tourist who arrives by private jet.
While tracking down more tourists may seem like an uphill battle, there is another, even tougher fight to be fought: ensuring the lions will be there should the tourism industry pick up.