Botswana: Culling of 23 elephants for 60th independence anniversary sparks wave of criticism

The Botswana Ministry of Environment and Tourism has issued a license authorizing the culling of 23 elephants and other wild animals to provide meat for the festivities of the country's 60th independence anniversary, celebrated on September 30, 2026. The decision has triggered a series of criticisms from wildlife advocacy organizations and local officials.

"Encouraging poaching"

Oaitse Nawa, president of the Elephant Protection Society, warned that killing elephants for festive banquets risks encouraging poaching by establishing the idea that shooting an elephant becomes acceptable as long as the state authorizes it. He also denounces the effect of repeated culls on herds: "Elephants have lost their social structures," he believes, describing animals pushed from one place to another by gunfire.

Gaborone defends regulated hunting

Botswana is home to more than 130,000 elephants, one of the largest populations on the continent. The government defends regulated hunting as a tool for managing this population and conflicts between humans and wildlife: crop damage, destruction of property, and endangering villages. Minister Wynter Mmolotsi indicated that special quotas dedicated to elephants brought in 15.6 million pulas, or about 1.1 million dollars, in 2025, with funds allocated to development projects in the affected communities.

The country had banned trophy hunting in 2014 before lifting that ban in 2019, a policy maintained under the presidency of Duma Boko.

Foot-and-mouth disease and contested distribution

Beyond the animal welfare issue, some Batswana have expressed concern on social media about the consumption of game meat in the midst of a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak. Member of Parliament Simasiku Mapulanga has called for more rigorous organization of distributions, citing "dignity," equity, and public hygiene.

Who decides on African wildlife?

This controversy points to an old and broader debate than just Botswana. Southern African states claim the right to manage their own wildlife and turn it into a resource for the benefit of the populations that coexist with elephants and suffer from the damage they cause. Conservation organizations, often based in the West, deem this approach unsustainable. Between sovereignty over natural resources and the protection of an iconic species, the arbitration is not simple, and it belongs first and foremost to the Batswana themselves—including the inhabitants of rural areas who are rarely heard in this debate.

The sources consulted do not report, at this stage, any questioning of the quota policy by the Gaborone government.