nngu007
JF-Expert Member
- Aug 2, 2010
- 15,860
- 5,803
Answer by Rory Young:
[h=2]
Botswana has by far the most.[/h]
According to the latest analysis of counts from all over AfricaBotswana has 118'736 wild elephants.
To put that into perspective Kenya, the most famous safari destination,only has 26'427 elephants.
The population in Botswana is growing rapidly whilst the Kenya population is falling.
The reason for the difference is simple. Botswana focuses on hunting down poachers using the army and other armed services and locks them up for extended periods, often killing them if they don't surrender.
Kenya on the other hand makes lots of noise on the international stage about trade bans but does virtually nothing about tackling the poaching. Amazingly, poachers that are occasionally apprehended by the Kenya Wildlife Service usually get off with a small fine.
The trafficking certainly has to be dealt with as a priority but so does the poaching itself. Southern and East-African states spend a ridiculous percentage of GDP to maintain large standing armed forces. It is a disgrace that they don't use them to combat poaching.
Recently Ban Ki Moon said in a speech that poaching was a threat to regional security in Central and East Africa. This was after a very large and
He's right. It is the African equivalent to the Latin American drug trade, bringing in large amounts of cash to criminal organizations. Even if some of these governments don't care about the wildlife then maybe they will sit up and take note of the threat to their National and regional security posed by these well armed and aggressive groups..
Botswana has by far the most.[/h]
According to the latest analysis of counts from all over AfricaBotswana has 118'736 wild elephants.
To put that into perspective Kenya, the most famous safari destination,only has 26'427 elephants.
The population in Botswana is growing rapidly whilst the Kenya population is falling.
The reason for the difference is simple. Botswana focuses on hunting down poachers using the army and other armed services and locks them up for extended periods, often killing them if they don't surrender.
Kenya on the other hand makes lots of noise on the international stage about trade bans but does virtually nothing about tackling the poaching. Amazingly, poachers that are occasionally apprehended by the Kenya Wildlife Service usually get off with a small fine.
The trafficking certainly has to be dealt with as a priority but so does the poaching itself. Southern and East-African states spend a ridiculous percentage of GDP to maintain large standing armed forces. It is a disgrace that they don't use them to combat poaching.
Recently Ban Ki Moon said in a speech that poaching was a threat to regional security in Central and East Africa. This was after a very large and
He's right. It is the African equivalent to the Latin American drug trade, bringing in large amounts of cash to criminal organizations. Even if some of these governments don't care about the wildlife then maybe they will sit up and take note of the threat to their National and regional security posed by these well armed and aggressive groups..