President Mokgweetsi Masisi of Botswana has issued a stark warning: if German authorities continue to ignore his request to take in 20,000 elephants, he may be forced to feed these animals to the country's starving population. This shocking ultimatum comes as Botswana grapples with the worst drought in 50 years, leading to widespread hunger among its people.
Report informs citing Bild that in a video address, President Masisi expressed his frustration with Germany's lack of response to his April 2024 proposal. "When people are starving, we must feed them," he stated, adding, "I'm afraid we will have to give them some or all of these elephants to eat."
Botswana, along with other Southern African nations, is home to approximately 130,000 elephants, representing a third of the global elephant population. While this may seem like a conservation success story, the elephants have become a significant problem for the country's agricultural sector, destroying crops and livelihoods. Restrictions imposed by Western countries on elephant hunting and the import of hunting trophies have only exacerbated the issue, according to Botswanan authorities.
In an effort to manage its elephant population, Botswana has already transferred around 8,000 elephants to Angola and offered hundreds more to Mozambique. However, with Germany being the largest importer of elephant hunting trophies in the EU as of 2021, President Masisi's plea for assistance has taken on a new urgency.