- – Farmers say these lethal, retaliatory killings stem from DWNP’s chronic failure to respond to livestock damage reports and conduct necessary field patrols.
- – Accuses DWNP of institutional inefficiency, noting that prolonged official neglect forces communities to protect their property independently.
- – Department admits shortage of operational resources cripples capacity to manage escalating human-wildlife conflict incidents.
- – Professor Mbaiwa put an emphasis on effective prevention, compensation, and community-based mitigation measures.
The devastating reality of human-wildlife conflict has resurfaced following the poisoning of 21 endangered African wild dogs near Nxaraga, sparking intense public debate over failed government interventions. The toxic chain reaction also resulted in the deaths of seven vultures that are suspected to have consumed the poisoned wild dog carcasses.
The incident drew swift reactions from conservationists and the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP). Local farmers, however, bluntly stated that these lethal, retaliatory killings stem from the department’s chronic failure to respond to livestock damage reports and conduct necessary field patrols.
They openly accused the DWNP of institutional inefficiency, noting that prolonged official neglect forces communities to protect their property independently.
Residents voiced these frustrations during a tense Kgotla meeting convened in Nxaraga this week.
Organised by the Xudumela Conservancy in partnership with the DWNP, the meeting was originally intended to sensitise the public to the severe ecological impacts of poisoning wildlife. Instead, it became an open platform for frustrated farmers to detail how delayed state responses routinely destroy their rural livelihoods.
The residents expressed a complete loss of faith in the department, stating that inadequate official support leaves farmers to eliminate problem animals before wildlife officers arrive on-site.
Fanuen Tjiurunga, father to the four sons accused of poisoning the wild dog pack condemned the department’s operational priorities, alleging that officials prioritise policing over community protection.
“The department is quicker to respond to wildlife crime cases as compared to human-wildlife conflict cases,” Tjiurunga stated.
He urged the DWNP to treat community distress calls with immediate urgency and fundamentally review the insufficient compensation packages offered to victims of human-wildlife conflict.
Resident Kelebogile Mmolaimang highlighted a severe lack of routine patrols by wildlife officers, warning that this operational void leaves the area vulnerable to unrestrained poaching. Mmolaimang argued that environmental degradation in Nxaraga is deeply intertwined with local socio-economic struggles and knowledge gaps.
“Unemployment creates conditions where people see poaching as a source of income or survival, lack of information about the ecological value of wildlife also deepens the problem,” he noted.
Corroborating these views, another concerned resident, Uaraa Nguvauva, accused the DWNP of absolute failure regarding the management and containment of problem animals.
As tension escalates between conservation goals and community survival, Nxaraga residents maintain that until the DWNP reforms its response strategies and restores active field patrols, the cycle of retaliatory killings will remain a desperate last resort for farmers protecting their property.
Writing in his ‘Tourism and Environment’ column this week, Professor of Tourism Studies at the University of Botswana’s Okavango Research Institute Joseph Mbaiwa shared that while wildlife poisoning is unacceptable and must be legally prosecuted, it is crucial to understand the circumstances driving farmers to retaliate.
“Predation of livestock can cause significant economic losses to rural households, particularly where livestock represents a family’s major source of income and livelihood. When farmers repeatedly lose goats, sheep, cattle or other animals to predators, frustration and anger can build, sometimes resulting in retaliatory killings,” he noted.
He stated that solving the issue requires more than just making arrests after wildlife has been killed. Mbaiwa highlighted that law enforcement is necessary, but it must be accompanied by effective prevention, compensation, and community-based mitigation measures. He added that Botswana needs a comprehensive strategy that reduces the costs of living alongside wildlife while ensuring that communities derive tangible benefits from conservation.
“Farmers should be supported with practical predator-management measures, including improved livestock kraals, night-time enclosures, herding practices, livestock guarding animals and early-warning systems. Rapid-response teams could also assist communities when predators repeatedly attack livestock. Compensation and other incentive mechanisms should be strengthened so that farmers do not feel that they carry the entire economic burden of conserving wildlife that generates national tourism revenues,” Mbaiwa said.
Mbaiwa indicated that the wild dog poisoning incident must serve as a wake-up call, emphasizing that measures must be put in place to find ways for people and wildlife to coexist—not by choosing wildlife over people or people over wildlife, but by developing practical strategies that allow both to survive and prosper.
Member of Parliament for Maun West Caterpillar Hikuama also shared that the incident is a direct outcome of a failed human-wildlife conflict management framework.
He highlighted distinct systemic challenges, including a resource-starved wildlife response, insultingly low and delayed compensation, and a total lack of proactive patrols. Hikuama demanded immediate interventions from the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, including an emergency vehicle fleet allocation, an overhaul of compensation rates, and the creation of co-managed anti-predator units.
In his remarks, North West District Acting Regional Wildlife Coordinator Thebeyakgosi Horatius admitted that a shortage of operational resources cripples the DWNP’s capacity to manage escalating human-wildlife conflict incidents in Nxaraga.
He acknowledged that long delays in attending to conflict incidents can degrade the physical evidence required by wildlife officers.
Horatius highlighted that response times are hindered by vehicle mechanical faults, as well as residents reporting incidents during weekends when relevant officers are off duty.
According to Horatius, despite these operational challenges, the DWNP is utilising its limited resources to attend human-wildlife conflict reports and deploy officers to conduct patrols in wildlife-prone areas, including Nxaraga.
Commenting on the lack of visible patrols, Horatius noted that in most cases, their operations go undercover to catch organised poachers, traffickers, and criminal networks that cannot be stopped through standard uniformed patrols.
He assured that the department is making efforts to clear a significant backlog of unresolved human-wildlife conflict incident reports in different areas, including Nxaraga.
Horatius further encouraged residents to report human-wildlife conflict incidents to the DWNP, citing that reporting such incidents is very important as it provides the department with critical information that may be needed to inform compensation policies.
