In fact, this investigation shows that trophy hunting continues to impoverish local communities, causes the decline in species and heightens human-elephant conflict situations. Unemployment and poverty levels within CBNRMs are the highest in Botswana. In 2015, when the last census of its kind was taken, the total number of people within CBNRMs living below the poverty line was estimated to be 148,999 with an average poverty rate of 27%. This was above the average for all rural villages (24.3%) in Botswana and much higher than the national average of 19.3%.6 Botswana remains one of the most unequal countries on earth.7 It must also be stated that most communities within CBNRMs in Botswana rely predominantly on government benefits in the form of income grants, old age assistance and other grants. These funds, in turn, are derived from taxes generated by Botswana’s two largest economic sectors - mining and photographic tourism. This means, that while trophy hunting is presented as being the most dominant direct provider within CBNRM communities, it rarely reaches the majority of community members who must still derive a living from government assistance which is generated by taxes that effectively originates in mining and tourism.