Want to buy an elephant?

We all have been reading news about there are just too many elephants in Botswana and Zimbabwe, with the former legalizing hunting down of elephants. But Zimbabwe is trying out a more humane approach – it is willing to sell its elephants to anyone across the globe even remotely interested in buying.

And this is not the first time that Zimbabwe mooted this move. Between 2012 and 2018, it sold some 97 elephants to China and UAE and raked in $2.7 million. This money was received by Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority to support elephant conservation activities. 

This is a good move but what we do not agree with is the call by Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa to lift the ban on ivory and other wildlife products. With so many elephants and many dying naturally, Zimbabwe is reportedly sitting on ivory worth $500 million.

Bringing about this worldwide ban took so much work and it is essential to protect wildlife. Just because Zimbabwe has a problem of plenty does not give it the right to ask for a lifting of the ban.