Botswana's government said on Thursday that it will suspend hunting of wildlife animals for both commercial purposes and sport hunting, effective as of Jan. 1, 2014, following a commitment to conserve and preserve tourism industry of the land landlocked country.

A statement from the Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism said that following the State of the Nation address by Botswana's President Ian Khama, the government has decided to indefinitely suspend hunting.

"This comes as a realization that the shooting of wild game purely for sport and trophies is no longer seen to be compatible with either our national commitment to conserve and preserve local fauna or the long term growth of the local tourism industry," said Edmont Moabi, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry in the statement.

He said in light of various enquiries that have been received from members of the public since the above announcement, the decision to impose the suspension on hunting was made in the context of a growing concern about the sharp decline in the populations of most of the wildlife species that have been subject to licensed hunting.

"If left unchecked, this decline poses a genuine threat to both the conservation of our natural heritage and the long term health of the local tourist industry which currently ranks second to diamonds in terms of its revenue earnings," he said.

Besides contributing to the conservation of wildlife, it is anticipated that in keeping with international trends, the moratorium on hunting will further facilitate the sustainable growth of the tourism sector, as hunting zones are converted into photographic areas.

The decision by the Botswana's government to indefinitely suspend commercial hunting by non release of any annual hunting quotas, will not for the time affect the issuing of special game licences on a limited basis for traditional hunting by some local communities within designated wildlife management areas.

Moabi said there will be an arrangement to continue to assess individual cases for special game licenses.

Khama said in a meeting in the tourism village of Maun in northern Botswana earlier this month that ecotourism has become increasingly important for Botswana and that it contributes more than 12 percent of the overall gross domestic product.

In 2011, it was reported that over the Okavango Delta the populations of some wildlife species had been decimated by hunting, poaching and veldt fires over the last decade. These research findings found that 11 species have declined by 61 percent since a 1996 survey in the Ngamiland district.

Ostrich numbers declined by 95 percent, while 90 percent of wildebeest were also wiped out, along with 84 percent of antelope tsessebe, 81 percent of warthogs and kudus, and nearly two thirds of giraffes. Endi

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