Botswana and Zambia hunting bans

In November 2012, the president of BOTSWANA announced that nearly all commercial and sport/trophy hunting of wild game on public lands will end on Jan. 1, 2014. Existing permits will be honored but will not be renewed. Some individual game licenses will be issued, and traditional hunting by some local communities within managed areas will be permitted. Hunting on private reserves will continue.

In January 2013, the government of ZAMBIA announced a ban on all hunting of wild cats, such as lions and leopards. The minister of tourism explained that hunting licenses earned Zambia about $3 million a year, but the numbers of cats left were too small to sustain that level of hunting and it was better to encourage wildlife-viewing tourism and let the animal populations grow. Ecotourism accounts for 12% of the country’s income.