Politics Botswana's president threatens to shoot 20,000 elephants
In April, Botswana's president, Mokgweetsi Masisi, 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 turn the animals into meat.
26.09.2024, 01:38
SDA
"As you know, Botswana offered Germany 20,000 of our elephants in April of this year, with the greatest respect," Mokgweetsi Masisi told the Bild newspaper. He has "not yet received any response" from the German government. His country, like southern Africa as a whole, is experiencing "the worst drought in 50 years", said the president. "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: they are also eating elephants." Masisi did not say when the culling of the first animals would begin.
The background to this is a debate that flared up in the spring about the possible further restriction of imports of hunting trophies. Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens) is considered a supporter and had thus drawn criticism from representatives of some African countries, in particular Botswana. Botswana feared that further import restrictions could result in high financial losses for the country. In the wake of the disagreement, Botswana's president announced that he would have 20,000 elephants sent to Germany in protest, but this did not happen.
