Botswana:In the wake of the emergence of Covid-19, countries in sub-Saharan Africa which rely on tourist dollars are all suffering economic catastrophe, with the poorest hardest hit.

Wildlife reserves have become attractive targets for gangs of poachers on the hunt for ivory and rhino horn to sell to Asia It is a story being repeated across  sub-Saharan Africa: countries which rely hugely on tourist dollars — from Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, to Namibia and South Africa — are all suffering economic catastrophe, with the poorest hardest hit.

The African safari industry is expecting a combined loss of £9.5 billion this year.

Meanwhile, wildlife reserves have become attractive targets for gangs of poachers on the hunt for ivory and rhino horn to sell to
Asia.

“Traffic”, the leading authority on the illegal wildlife trade, reports that rhino horn is being processed into beads, bangles and
bracelets to evade detection before being sent to the Far East where it is valued at up to £46,300 per kg.