The President of Botswana threatens to send 20,000 elephants to Germany.. What is the story and how did tweeters react?

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The Botswana President's threat to send 20,000 elephants to Germany sparked a widespread uproar on social media platforms, after his implicit objection to Berlin's decision to legalize the import of hunting game.

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In an interview with the German newspaper "Bild", Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi said that the Germans should try living with these animals, adding, "We would like to give a gift to Germany. This is not a joke. We would like to send 20,000 elephants to Germany, and I will not accept rejection."

Masisi pointed out that herds of elephants caused damage to property, ate crops, and trampled residents.

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Botswana is home to about a third of the world's elephant population, with more than 130,000, and in 2019 it lifted a five-year ban on elephant hunting, after the number of elephants tripled.

The doubling of elephant numbers has presented the country with challenges in managing large numbers of them, and has exacerbated conflict between farmers and the animals, which destroy crops and sometimes kill villagers, in addition to harming ecosystems by destroying trees.

In turn, the Botswana government confirms that elephant hunting is currently carried out in an organized and ethical manner, in accordance with laws and regulations, and is subject to strict supervision.

Historically, elephant hunting for the West has been linked to the illegal ivory trade, as Germany is the largest importer in the European Union of African elephant tusks and ivory tusks, according to a 2021 Humane Society International report.

Therefore, Germany is striving to stop this illegal trade, after the German Ministry of the Environment called for earlier this year to impose stricter restrictions on the import of hunting game, saying that in light of the alarming loss of biodiversity, there is a special responsibility to ensure the sustainability and legality of the import of elephant tusks.

Between supporters and opponents

The statements of the President of Botswana received great interaction on social media, according to what was monitored by the “Shabakat” program in its episode dated (4/4/2024), amid praise for Masisi’s move.

In this context, Samir says, commenting, "His attitude says: Are you smart, but are you philosophizing about us? Let's live with it and see what you do. To be honest, this should be the fate of everyone who interferes in what does not concern him."

Nidal considered the Botswana move "the strongest threat... Will you be silent and I will not send you 20 thousand elephants? And dispose of them, sell them, embalm them, pamper them, you are free (you are free) again."

In turn, Wiam Al-Sayed pointed out that “Botswana and other countries in southern Africa earn a lot of money from rich Westerners who pay thousands of dollars to hunt them (elephants) and marginalize environmental issues.”

For his part, Mohammed praised Berlin's decision, and said in this regard, "I am with the fact that Germany and the countries calling for environmental protection receive animals and take care of them, instead of them being subjected to cruel practices in their countries."

It should be noted that Botswana's threat to send elephants is not the first of its kind, as the Minister of Wildlife threatened last March to send 10,000 elephants to Hyde Park in London, so that the British people could "have a taste of living alongside them," as he put it, after a vote. The British Parliament imposed a ban on the import of hunting game.

Botswana had previously provided 8,000 elephants to its neighbor Angola, and hundreds of elephants to Mozambique, as a means of reducing its elephant population, while a report issued by the Botswana Cabinet in 2019 recommended “establishing a factory for canning elephant meat” to be used as pet food.