In April, Botswana’s president wanted to send 20,000 elephants to Germany in a dispute over the import of hunting trophies. Now the head of state is threatening to process the animals into meat.
Following disagreements with Germany over the possible restriction of the import of hunting trophies, Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi has announced that he will have 20,000 elephants shot.
“As you know, Botswana offered Germany 20,000 of our elephants in April this year, with the greatest respect,” Masisi told the “Bild” newspaper. He said he had “received no response so far” from the German government. His country, like southern Africa as a whole, is experiencing “the worst drought in 50 years,” the president said. “Our people are starving. The elephants are in danger of dying. If our people are starving, we have a duty to feed them. And I can tell you frankly: you also eat elephants.” Masisi did not say when the first animals would be culled.
The background to this is a debate that heated up in the spring about the possible further restrictions on the import of hunting trophies. Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens) is considered to be a supporter and has thus drawn criticism from representatives of some African countries, particularly Botswana. Botswana feared that further import restrictions could cause the country to suffer high financial losses. In the wake of the resentment, Botswana’s president announced that he wanted to have 20,000 elephants sent to Germany in protest, but this did not happen.
