Botswana auctions permits to hunt elephants to ease human-wildlife conflict

JOHANNESBURG - Botswana will auction licences on Friday to hunt a total of 70 elephants in seven districts, the first such hunting to take place since President Mokgweetsi Masisi lifted a five-year ban on big game hunting last May. Africa’s overall elephant population is declining due to poaching but Botswana, home to almost a third of the continent’s elephants, has seen numbers grow to 130,000 from 80,000 in the late 1990s. Botswanan...