Botswana is irritated by the German Ministry of the Environment’s proposal to limit the import of hunting souvenirs. According to the president of Botswana, the country suffers from an “overpopulation” of elephants.
The president of Botswana, located in the southern part of Africa Mokgweetsi Masisi threatened on Tuesday that Botswana would send 20,000 elephants to Germany.
The background to the special threat is the dispute between Botswana and Germany over the import of trophies, i.e. hunting souvenirs.
Among other things, a German will tell you about it Bild magazine and news agency AFP.
Botswana’s elephant population has grown to around 130,000 individuals. Now there are already too many of these animals for Botswana’s taste. According to Masis, the country suffers from an “overpopulation” of elephants.
The country has previously given Angola 8,000 elephants. According to Masis, they have offered five hundred elephants to Mozambique, but it has not yet accepted them.
– We want to offer such a gift to Germany, Masisi said and added that there is no way to refuse.
– This is not a joke, Masisi said according to news agency AFP.
According to Bild, Masis’ condition is that the elephants are allowed to roam freely in Germany.
Masisi told Bild that Germans should live with these animals in the same way they are trying to tell Botswanans to do.
Elephants cause problems for people
President Masisi said that due to conservation efforts, the number of elephants in Botswana has exploded and hunting is an important means of keeping the population under control.
According to him, elephant herds cause damage to crops and property and trample people.
Germany’s environment ministry suggested earlier this year that the import of hunting memorabilia could be more strictly limited to combat poaching.
Germany has been one of the EU’s largest importers of hunting souvenirs, a spokesman for the German Ministry of the Environment tells the news agency AFP.
According to the spokesperson, Botswana has not been in official contact with the German government to relocate the elephants.
According to Masis, the ban on the importation of hunting souvenirs would lead to the impoverishment of Botswanans.
Botswana banned trophy hunting in 2014. The country lifted the ban in 2019 due to pressure from local communities. Now Botswana has set annual quotas for hunting.
Source: AFP