“This is not a joke”, explains Mokgweetsi Masisi, adding that he “wouldn’t take no for an answer” to this “gift”
The president of Botswana threatened Germany this Tuesday with sending 20,000 elephants, due to Berlin’s criticism of pachyderm hunting and the export of trophies, which the country uses to regulate the number of animals.
Germans must “live with the animals that try to dictate to us”, said the president of Botswana, Mokgweetsi Masisi, in statements to the German daily Bild, published today.
“This is not a joke”, he clarified in relation to his proposal to transfer 20,000 pachyderms to the European nation, adding that he “would not accept no for an answer” to this “gift”.
Botswana, a landlocked country in Southern Africa, is home to the largest population of elephants in the world, with around 130,000 specimens, which are often difficult to cohabit with, according to the president, who referred to attacks on humans, villages and cultures .
Criticism from the German Environment Ministry, which is run by environmentalists, has been directed at elephant hunting trophies purchased by wealthy Western clients.
Earlier this year, the Ministry raised the possibility of imposing stricter limits on the import of these trophies due to poaching problems.
“Within the European Union (EU), we are discussing the possibility of extending the requirement for an import authorization (…) to other hunting trophies from protected animals,” a Ministry spokeswoman told France news agency today Presse (AFP).
Germany is one of the biggest importers of hunting trophies in the EU, so it has “a special responsibility” in this matter, the spokeswoman added.
As for the “gift” announced by Masisi, the German Environment Ministry said that “Botswana has not yet been in contact” on the matter.
In 2019, Botswana lifted a total hunting ban, introduced five years earlier to reverse declining populations of elephants and other species.
Since then, Botswana has decided every year on a quota of animals that can be hunted, with commercial hunting also being an important source of local income.
The lifting of the ban drew criticism from conservationists.
Last year, the country offered 8,000 elephants to Angola.
