John Hardbattle served in the British army, studied at Oxford University, and farmed cattle in Ghanzi before taking up the cause of Bushman rights.
In an attempt to rectify this and at the same time to fight the coming evictions, John Hardbattle travelled to the UK and the US to alert the international community to the Bushmen's plight and to garner public support for the Bushman cause.
Hardbattle made light of the fact that Botswana's post independence constitution limited entry into the Central Kalahari Game Reserve "for the protection and well-being of Bushmen.” a point he presented to an audience at the United Nations and the international press.
Furthermore, Hardbattle alleged that the eviction of the San from their ancestral lands was not about over-hunting, nor was it about development, but was in fact because the Botswana government together with major diamond producers located in Antwerp and Israel, were concerned that FPK would begin to demand a share of any revenue generated through diamond mining in the Kalahari.
Following his death, the Botswana Government resumed its efforts to forcibly remove and relocate the San people from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve.