Earlier this year, the German Ministry of the Environment discussed the possibility of tightening the importation of such trophies, in order to overcome poachers.
Now President Mokgweetsi Masisi fears that any austerity measures could lead parts of Botswana’s population into poverty, and is therefore threatening to send tens of thousands of animals to Germany.
Masisi argues that wildlife conservation programs have led to an explosion in the number of elephants, and that hunting is an important tool to keep the population down.
The country banned trophy hunting in 2014, but lifted the ban in 2019 following pressure from various local forces. Botswana now has annual elephant hunting quotas.
The Guardian and Bild are among the media that have discussed the elephant threat.
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It is not the first time that the authorities in Botswana have threatened to show off elephants to people.
In March, the authorities said they would send 10,000 elephants to London, while they have already offered 8,000 to Angola and 500 to Mozambique.
Botswana’s elephant population has exceeded 130,000 animals, and Masisi says that they cause damage to property, that they eat crops and are perceived as threatening by residents.
– It is very easy to sit in Berlin and have opinions about what we are doing in Botswana. But we are the ones who pay the price for taking care of these animals, says President Masisi to Bild.
He says that he will not take “no” for an answer.
– The Germans should live together with the animals, just as they tell us we should do, he says.
A spokesperson for the German Environment Ministry says that Botswana has not taken this up with the German authorities, and that they will continue dialogue with African countries affected by the import rules.
