Controversy has erupted over the plan of a poverty-stricken black community living north of South Africa’s Kruger National Park to allow wealthy foreigners a shot at hunting the park’s elephants. The Makuleke community jointly manages 30,000 hectares of park land with the government, an arrangement reached two years ago to compensate the Makuleke because they were forcibly removed from the area in 1969 by the white-minority government. The community wants to allow the sport hunting of two elephants and two buffaloes a year to help bring in much-needed cash. One environmental organization, the Wildlife Action Group, wants to launch a campaign to raise $244,000 for the community on the condition that they not allow hunting. Other conservationists say the hunting could be a good way for the community to generate income from the park, particularly because some scientists believe the park has more elephants than it can sustain.
