image source, Getty Images
- Author, Jacqueline Howard
- Role, BBC News
The President of Botswana has threatened to send 20,000 elephants to Germany in a political dispute.
Earlier this year, the German Environment Ministry put forward a proposal that stricter restrictions should be imposed on imports of elephant tusks.
Botswana’s president, Mokgweetsi Masisi, told German media that this would only impoverish Botswana.
He explained that the number of elephants has increased as a result of environmental conservation efforts, and that hunting has helped control them.
Masisi added to the German newspaper Bild that Germans should “live with animals the way you say we should.”
Botswana is home to about a third of the world’s elephant population, estimated at more than 130,000.
The president told Bild newspaper that the herds caused property damage, ate crops and trampled residents.
Botswana has previously given 8,000 elephants to countries such as Angola, and hundreds more to Mozambique, as a way to reduce its elephant population.
“We would like to give Germany a gift like this,” Masisi said, adding that the matter was not a joke, and that he would not accept rejection in response.
Botswana banned elephant hunting in 2014, but lifted restrictions in 2019 after facing pressure from local communities.
The country currently sets annual hunting quotas, saying they provide a good source of income for the local community, and that the practice is licensed and strictly controlled.
Botswana has previously considered using elephants as pet food.
In 2019, a Botswana Cabinet report recommended “establishing an elephant meat canning plant” for pet food.
The largest European importer of ivory
Germany is the European Union’s largest importer of African elephant tusks, and ivory tusks in general, according to a 2021 report issued by the Humane Society International.
A spokeswoman for the Environment Ministry in Berlin told AFP news agency that Botswana had not raised any concerns with Germany over the issue.
She explained: “In light of the alarming loss of biodiversity, it is our responsibility to do everything to ensure that the import of elephant tusks is sustainable and legal.”
The spokeswoman added that the ministry is still holding talks with African countries affected by the import rules, including Botswana.
Australia, France and Belgium are among the countries that have banned the trade in elephant tusks.
In March, members of the British Parliament voted to impose a ban on the import of elephant tusks, but the legislation needs further scrutiny before it becomes law.
The pledge to ban the import of elephant tusks was mentioned in the Conservative Party’s 2019 general election manifesto.
Why is conflict between humans and elephants increasing?
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Elephants straying from their natural range
A previous BBC report stated that surveys revealed that the distance traveled by elephants as their range is expanding.
Director of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, Otisitoi Tiroyamodimu, said there were many factors, including climate change.
He added: “We began to see that as rainfall decreased, the vegetation began to recede, so the elephants naturally migrated outside their usual range, because they were getting less water and fodder.”
He continued: “The number of elephants increased, and at the same time the population also increased, and there was a demand for more land. The development of infrastructure also led to the migration of elephants.”
However, the latest wildlife study in northern Botswana has shown that elephant numbers are not increasing as many rural residents believe.
But those who live near elephants supported lifting the ban on elephant hunting issued in Botswana in 2019, saying the scale of the conflict had increased since the ban was imposed.
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