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Ghana hunting ban helps threatened species

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October 10, 2025

Ghana's annual hunting ban protects wildlife, but locals want alternatives—especially when they don't have enough to eat and elephants destroy crops.

Ghana’s annual six-month hunting ban, known as the “closed season,” aims to protect wildlife during breeding periods. In Mole National Park, rangers patrol for poachers and monitor animal populations. While the ban helps wildlife recover and is especially important for endangered species, it also creates hardship for communities that rely on bushmeat. Some locals still risk arrest to feed their families. Conservation efforts now include alternative income sources like beekeeping and fruit trees. But without compensation to farmers for crop damage caused by wildlife, support for the ban is likely to remain fragile.

Maxwell Suuk Maxwell is a DW reporter based in Tamale, Northern Ghana.
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