20,000 Elephants are Deported to Germany? 

 By: Kevin Mensah

Save the Elephants: They’re Kind of a “Big” Deal 

Botswana is home to a staggering elephant population, with over 130,000 elephant residents. Maybe a few thousand too many. Elephants in Botswana live across an estimated 40% of the country’s land and are an estimated one-third of the world’s elephant population.

Near the beginning of 2024, Germany’s Ministry of the Environment proposed that there should be stricter limits on importing hunting trophies. In 2014, Botswana implemented a ban on trophy hunting. However, in response to appeals from local communities emphasizing the need for revenue generated by the sport, the ban was subsequently lifted in 2019 and replaced with annual hunting quotas.

Botswana’s President Mokgweetsi Masisi expressed his concerns to German media, stating that the proposed restrictions on hunting trophies would have negative economic consequences for his country. He argued that the elephant population in Botswana has grown significantly due to successful conservation efforts and that hunting plays a role in maintaining a balanced ecosystem.

 “Herds were causing damage to property, eating crops and trampling residents,” Mr. Masisi says. Germans should “live together with the animals, in the way you are trying to tell us to.”

Botswana, along with several southern African countries, argues that the revenue generated from Westerners who engage in trophy hunting, utilizing animal skins and heads, is instrumental in supporting conservation efforts. This approach aims to reduce the likelihood of locals resorting to poaching activities.

As a means to “tame the herd,” Botswana has already offered Angola a total of 8,000 elephants, and an additional 500 elephants to Mozambique. 

“We would like to offer such a gift to Germany,” Mr. Masisi said, proposing a deportation of 20,000 elephants. 

“It’s not a joke,” Masisi told the German tabloid newspaper Bild.

What are your thoughts on this particular proposal? Do you find it viable, considering the ecological impact and the needs of local communities? Does it offer a fair resolution to the challenges faced by all parties involved? This is Kevin signing off for one last time “What Would Happen if….?”