Botswana condemned for slaughtering elephants for independence celebrations

Animal rights activists have criticised Botswana's decision to authorise the killing of 23 elephants to provide meat for independence celebrations.

Key points

• The country banned trophy hunting in 2014 under former President Ian Khama but lifted the restrictions five years afterwards under his successor, Mokgweetsi Masisi.
• The Botswana-based Elephant Protection Society warns the decision could undermine conservation, with its chairman Oaitse Nawa telling the BBC elephants needed greater protection.
• Botswana has more than 130, 000 elephants and communities living alongside them have long complained regarding animals destroying crops, damaging property and sometimes killing residents.
• The southern African country, home to the world's largest elephant population, is holding nationwide festivities on Wednesday to mark the 60th anniversary of independence from Britain.
• A licence issued by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, seen by local media, authorises the hunting of 23celephants and other wild animals for "complimentary purposes".

Notably, the southern African country, home to the world's largest elephant population, is holding nationwide festivities on Wednesday to mark the 60th anniversary of independence from Britain.

Meanwhile, a licence issued by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, seen by local media, authorises the hunting of 23celephants and other wild animals for "complimentary purposes".

For context, the Botswana-based Elephant Protection Society warns the decision could undermine conservation, with its chairman Oaitse Nawa telling the BBC elephants needed greater protection.

He cautioned that slaughtering elephants for celebratory feasting could encourage poaching by creating the impression that killing elephants is acceptable when sanctioned by administration.

"Elephants have lost their social structures because they are always being pushed from one place to another by gunshots, " Nawa remarked.

Meanwhile, a number of social media users in the country have additionally expressed reservations concerning eating the game meat against the backdrop of an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. It has prompted authorities to impose measures to contain its spread.

Tshenatshe Monwela, an elder in Maun, a tourism town in north-western Botswana informed local media that his community should have received buffalo instead.

He argued that elephants had particular cultural and ecological significance and that Botswana's historic role in protecting the country's wildlife and livestock should have been recognised in the government's allocation of meat for the anniversary celebrations. Elephants employ medicinal plants to treat themselves, researchers find.

As well as cultural performances, concerts and sporting events, botswana's administration has organised a series of events to mark the country's diamond jubilee, including a carnival in the capital, Gaborone.

For context, the game meat is projected to be served as part of the traditional feasting associated with the Independence Day celebrations. The 23 elephants were allocated in eight districts nationwide.

It was not immediately clear how plenty of of the animals had been killed by Wednesday morning. The BBC has asked the administration for comment.

But local media published images from different parts of Botswana showing residents gathering around elephant carcasses, some with knives in hand and sharing the meat.

In Chobe, a wildlife-rich district in northern Botswana near the borders with Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe, a local MP triggered concern after residents reportedly collected portions directly from a carcass at a school.

He remarked the system risked creating congestion and disadvantaging elderly residents, pregnant women and individuals with disabilities, and suggested the meat should instead be processed into 5kg or 10kg packages to improve hygiene and ensure fairer distribution.

"For the sake of dignity, fairness and public hygiene, we respectfully call on the hunter and the relevant leadership to ensure that future distributions are properly organised, " MP Simasiku Mapulanga posted on Facebook, attaching photos of individuals scrambling for meat around an elephant carcass.

Elephant meat is common in some wildlife-rich communities, particularly when meat from legal hunts is distributed locally, but it is not an everyday staple.

Botswana additionally tightly regulates game meat, and its legal possession generally depends on proving it came from a lawful hunt.

Meanwhile, the decision has reignited a long-running and often heated debate in Botswana over how the country manages its massive elephant population.

In practice, the administration has defended regulated hunting as one way of managing the elephant population and human-wildlife conflict while generating income for communities.

Notably, the country banned trophy hunting in 2014 under former President Ian Khama but lifted the restrictions five years afterwards under his successor, Mokgweetsi Masisi.

Hunting has continued under President Duma Boko. This person defeated Masisi in elections in 2024. The administration states proceeds from hunting supports conservation and local development.

Minister of Environment and Tourism Wynter Mmolotsi informed parliament last year that special elephant quotas raised 15.6m pula ($1.1m; £820, 000) in 2025 for projects in areas where elephants are identified.

But conservation organisations have questioned whether the level of hunting is sustainable.

Supporters of Botswana's hunting policy, nevertheless, argue that international criticism often overlooks the costs borne by rural communities living alongside one of the world's biggest concentrations of elephants.

They say elephants destroy crops and infrastructure and pose a danger to individuals, particularly as their range increasingly overlaps with farms and settlements. You may additionally be interested in. 'I'm afraid that elephants will kill me'. Tourist pouring beer down elephant's trunk in Kenya sparks anger. 'Elephant refugee' difficulty in Africa.

Go to BBCAfrica.com, external for more news from the African continent.

For now, botswana condemned for slaughtering elephants for independence celebrations remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.