Botswana to Proceed with Elephant Hunts Despite Red List 

GABORONE - Authorities in Botswana say the elephant hunting season will go ahead as planned, despite a world conservation body listing African elephants as endangered. Botswana's government argues its elephant population - the world's largest - is growing too fast and leading to human-wildlife conflict.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) this month listed Africa's Savannah elephants as endangered and its forest elephants as critically endangered. But Botswana’s Director of Wildlife and National Paks, Kabelo Senyatso said the authorized elephant hunts will begin on April 6 as planned. Senyatso said his government uses IUCN’s red list as one of the tools to implement conservation programs.