US$1,834: how much a foreigner will pay to shoot elephants in Botswana

Botswana has reintroduced elephant hunts with a cautious approach to pricing, a move likely to further inflame the controversy threatening a US$2 billion tourism industry after a five-year ban on hunting was lifted.

The government will auction licenses to hunting operators for the right to shoot 158 elephants but is yet to decide on the minimum price it will set at the sales, said Kitso Mokaila, the country’s environment minister.

There will also be a charge of 20,000 pula, or US$1,834, for each of 72 elephant hunting licenses designated for foreigners, according to government documents seen by Bloomberg.

That compares to at least US$21,000 for the right to shoot an elephant in neighbouring Zimbabwe.

Botswana has the world’s largest elephant population, with about 130,000 of the animals roaming free nationwide.

“It’s a very reasonable price,” said Dries van Coller, president of the Professional Hunters Association in South Africa.