Botswana reopens hunting. The government announced yesterday they are “lifting the hunting suspension in an orderly and ethical manner”. A decision that seemed inevitable, but nevertheless is an enormous blow for Botswana’s tourism and conservation reputation. Since President Masisi’s announcement last year proposing lifting the hunting ban, this whole process has been a well-orchestrated election campaign, casting hunting as the solution to Human Elephant Conflict, rural poverty and elephant population control. The Botswana Democratic Party has been in power since independence in 1966 but dropped to a record low of 46% of the voters’ support in the last election. By…