Botswana: The Republic Botswana offer to Gift 20,000 Elephants To The German Government.

The President Of the Republic Botswana’s President Mokgweetsi Masisi has offered to export about 20,000 elephants to Germany amid a controversy over the import of hunting trophies.
At the begging of this year Germany’s ministry of environments raised the attention to the stricter limits on the import of hunting trophies over poaching issues. But according to The President if they ban the import of hunting trophies, that would only impoverish Botswanans.

The President argued that conservation efforts have led to an explosion in the number of elephants and that hunting is an important means to keep them in check. Botswana banned trophy hunting in 2014 but lifted the restrictions in 2019 under pressure from local communities. Botswana now issues annual hunting quotas. Herds of Elephants were causing damaging people’s properties, eating crops and disturbing residents, Masisi told the Germans.

“It is very easy to sit in Berlin and have an opinion about our affairs in Botswana. We are paying the price for preserving these animals for the world,” he said. Germans should “live together with the animals, in the way you are trying to tell us to”. “This is not a joke,” said Masisi, whose country has seen its Elephant population increased to some 130,000.

The Republic of Botswana, is the home of the world’s largest elephant population, has already offered 8,000 elephants to Angola and another 500 to Mozambique, as it seeks to tackle what Masisi described as “overpopulation”. Officials in March also offered to export about 10,000 Elephants to THE United Kingdom.

“We would like to offer such a gift to Germany,” Masisi said, adding that he would “not take no for an answer”.

But the spokesperson of the ministry of environment in Berlin said Botswana had not raised any of such offers with the Germany government. The Germans ministry remained in talks with most African countries affected by import rules, including Botswana, according the spokesperson. “In light of the alarming loss of biological diversity, we have a special responsibility to do everything to ensure the import of hunting trophies is sustainable and legal,” she said.

She said that Germany was one of the largest importers of hunting trophies in the European Union. According to her the African Elephant hunting trophies already require import authorization under current laws. She furthermore added that, The EU is to discuss on harsher import restrictions are focused on extending the list of protected species.

Source: oneinfoafrica