Botswana’s president made worldwide news headlines in April after he threatened to send 20,000 elephants to Germany. Why did he do this? What is the connection between elephants, hunting and conservation?
Today’s episode of Thinking in English is going to touch on topics including hunting, endangered species, elephant conservation, and more! And we will learn some new vocabulary while testing your listening comprehension.
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Vocabulary
- Big Game (Noun Phrase): Large and exotic animals, typically hunted for sport or trophy collection.
- The tourists were excited to catch a glimpse of big game such as lions and elephants during their trip to Africa.
- Trophy (Noun): An object, such as an animal’s head or horns, kept as a symbol of a successful hunt.
- The hunter proudly displayed his collection of trophies.
- Hunt (Verb): The act of capturing or killing wild animals.
- The tribe relied on hunting as their main food source in the forest.
- Endangered (Adjective): at risk of extinction or disappearance from the wild.
- Conservation efforts are crucial to protect endangered species from disappearing forever.
- Conservation (Noun): the protection and preservation of natural resources and ecosystems.
- The national park has strict conservation measures to safeguard endangered species.
- Cull (Verb): to selectively slaughter a portion of a wild animal population for management purposes.
- Wildlife authorities conducted a cull of deer in the area to prevent overpopulation.
- Overpopulation (Noun): the condition of having too many individuals of a species in a given area.
- The growth of the rabbit population led to overpopulation, causing damage to crops.
Introduction
In April, I saw an amazing headline on the BBC News website – Botswana threatens to send 20,000 elephants to Germany.
I think this a fascinating headline. When I first read it, I imagined elephants rushing through the streets of Berlin or the mountains of Bavaria. I thought about these great animals, usually seen in the African savannah, surviving in the noticeably cooler northern European climate.
When I read the article, it was even more interesting that I thought. Botswana’s threat to send elephants to Germany is a great opportunity to discuss some issues I’ve wanted to talk about for a while: animal conservation, the conflict between humans and elephants, and big game hunting (more on this soon).
First, let’s take a look at why Botswana is threatening to send Germany 20,000 elephants.
Big Game Hunting
What is Big Game Hunting?
The argument between Botswana and Germany is connected to the issue of big game hunting or trophy hunting.
“Big game hunting” refers to the practice of hunting large and often exotic animals, typically for sport or trophy collection. This includes animals such as elephants, lions, rhinoceroses, and other species that are considered prized targets due to their size, rarity, or danger.
Unlike when people hunt animals for food, big game hunting is more about the status of hunting and killing a dangerous and large wild animal. The hunters will often take “trophies” or part of the animal’s body back home to show off.
Cecil the Lion
One of the most infamous incidents connected to big game hunting was the killing of Cecil the Lion in 2015.
Cecil the lion was a well-known male lion living in Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe. In July 2015 he was killed by an American trophy hunter named Walter Palmer. Cecil was a favourite among tourists and researchers in the park, and his death made worldwide news.
Palmer, the hunter, had reportedly paid local guides to lure Cecil out of the national park, where he was then shot with a bow and arrow. Hunting is restricted in National Parks, but not outside of them.
Cecil’s death prompted calls for stronger protections for lions and other wildlife. It was also a very emotional story, that caught people’s attention. A great lion, the iconic image of southern Africa, killed by a paying tourist who just wanted to shoot an animal.
Germany and Big Game Hunting
In the case of Cecil the Lion, the hunter was from the USA. The US has a major hunting culture and is one of the largest importers of big game hunting trophies.
In the EU, Germany is the biggest importer. They are the biggest importer of all hunting trophies from Africa, and also specifically of killed elephants. But this might be about to change.
Earlier this year, Germany’s government and environment ministry suggested that the country should begin to regulate, restrict, or limit imports by big game hunters.
I’m sure many of you listening to this episode probably think this is a great idea. Elephants are majestic, powerful, and iconic creatures that do not deserve to be hunted and killed for sport. The hunters don’t eat or use the elephant’s body for anything useful, they just want to display their achievements.
But what do the leaders of the countries in Africa, with most of the world’s African elephants, think about such policies?
In the case of Botswana, they are clearly not happy.
Why was Botswana so Angry?
Are Elephants an Endangered Species?
Botswana’s threat to send 20,000 elephants to Germany may sound ridiculous, but it was designed to make the news and highlight a problem facing Botswana.
They have too many elephants.
This might sound surprising, but the reality is that a number of countries in southern Africa, including Botswana, have a lot of elephants – and this number is growing.
I think we tend to assume that elephants are an endangered species, because the population of wild elephants collapsed in the 1970s and 1980s.
Estimates suggest that while around 4 million elephants were alive in Africa in the 1930s, this was just 1.3 million in 1979, and kept falling to reach much much lower levels. The population collapse only stopped with international conservation efforts to stop the killing of the animals.
Today, there are roughly around 400,000 elephants left in Africa, the African bush elephant is listed as “endangered” by the International Union of Conservation of Nature and the African forest elephant is considered “critically endangered.”
According to IUCN, an endangered species is an animal that is at very high risk of extinction in the wild if urgent conservation action is not taken to address the threats they face. And a critically endangered species is at an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild, with very few individuals remaining.
Why are Elephants a Problem in Botswana?
According to these organisations and categories, elephants should be considered an endangered species. The world should be creating conservation programmes to protect elephants and make their numbers increase in the wild.
In Botswana, however, things are slightly different. The country is home to about a third of the world’s wild African bush elephants – around 130,000 elephants.
While Botswana is a big country, it does not have a big population.
In fact, when we consider Botswana has only about 2,000,000 people living there, it means that there is one elephant for every 15 people in the country. Other countries in the region, including Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Angola, also have significant numbers of elephants.
In the past, there used to be even more elephants in Africa, but the Africa of 100 years ago is very different to modern Africa. The population in southern Africa has grown significantly, people are living in more places, and the economy has changed.
Even in a country with a small population, like Botswana, there are now farms and settlements in places that used to be uninhabited.
This means there is more chance for elephants and people to come into contact with each other.
Elephants are large and powerful creatures, that don’t have many predators, and can live for a long time. Without poaching or human hunting, their populations can grow relatively quickly.
They also need a lot of food to survive.
In Botswana, elephants regularly destroy farms by eating crops and trampling over fields. They can damage houses, electricity lines, and water pipers in their search for food. And they can kill people who are in their way.
Elephants are very dangerous animals. They are also wild and difficult to control. I read an article on the BBC about Kenya, which described how herds of elephants were moving into new territory due to climate change. Traditional farmers livelihoods were being eaten by the elephants, and the people feared for their lives.
The elephants were also drinking the village’s water, and in efforts to stop the elephants from eating their crops and drinking water, people were risking their lives.
It is clear there is a kind of paradox. Elephants in general are an endangered species, but in specific countries like Botswana their population is too big.
The Botswanan president has accused European countries of caring more about elephants than humans. He has threatened to send 20,000 elephants to Germany, and 10,000 to London, in response to suggested regulations in these countries.
How can we deal with this elephant problem?
Is Big Game Hunting a Solution to Conservation and the Elephant Problem?
In the past, African countries used to practice culling. According to Oxford dictionary, culling is “reduction of a wild animal population by selective slaughter.”
In other words, they would deliberately kill a portion of animals each year to control the population.
Tourists and western governments found this idea troubling (even though culling is quite common in other parts of the world as well), and eventually most countries banned culling.
Another method has been to try and sell or give away elephants. Namibia tried to sell 170 elephants by auction in 2021. And Botswana has offered elephants to Angola and Mozambique in recent months, as well as threatening to send thousands to Germany and London.
Trophy or big game hunting, however, has been popular choice by African countries. Usually, they sell a license to tourists and hunters, for a lot of money, to allow them to kill animals and take trophies.
Botswana’s angry response to Germany’s proposal to ban big game hunting is because they have been using trophy hunting as a method of controlling elephant populations. They also claim that hunting is actually good for conservation efforts.
There are a few reasons why governments in Africa have been supporters of trophy hunting in recent years.
One of the main arguments is that controlled hunting can help manage elephant populations. Overpopulation of elephants can lead to habitat and resource destruction, and conflicts with humans. Allowing hunting can keep the number of elephants lower and hopefully minimise these issues.
In fact, hunting allows the government to choose which animals can be hunted. They can let hunters kill problem animals.
Take elephants for an example. Older male elephants can cause problems. They are aggressive, fight younger and smaller males, and often can no longer have children. African countries like Botswana will often allow hunters to shoot these animals, and therefore protect the younger healthier elephants.
At the same time, big game hunting generates a lot of money for these country’s economies. It is not cheap if you want to hunt an animal in Botswana. I found one company from the USA charging $92,000 (US Dollars) for a 14-day hunting trip to Botswana that allows you to shoot a buffalo and elephant. And this fee is only the initial cost – it doesn’t include flights, shipping costs, and you’ll have to pay more if you kill a big elephant. And it is just for one person.
This is a massive amount of money for Botswana’s economy. They argue that this revenue can be used to fund conservation efforts, including protecting habits, anti-poaching, and education.
In other words, by letting a few rich Americans hunt a few animals, Botswana can generate millions of dollars with which to better protect the rest of the country’s environment.
Alternatives to Big Game Hunting?
Why Big Game Hunting is Controversial?
However, big game hunting isn’t without controversy.
Many people view hunting, particularly trophy hunting, as unethical and disgusting. They argue that killing animals for sport or for trophies undermines the value of wildlife. It is not compassionate or kind, especially allowing tourists to shoot them with guns or arrows.
Critics also argue that the targeting of specific individuals, such as large older males, can disrupt social structures and genetic diversity within elephant populations. Removing these individuals may have big consequences!
There is also doubt over how much of the money generated from hunting actually helps conservation efforts. How much of the money generated from killing an elephant goes back to saving elephants? Or does it go to something else?
Better Options?
What are the alternatives to trophy hunting as a conservation method?
Africa could be promoting wildlife tourism instead of hunting. Things like safaris, birdwatching, or hiking vacations provide economic reasons to conserve wildlife and protect the animals. While you can’t make as much money from these kinds of tourists compared to a hunter, there will be a lot more people interested in this kind of tourism.
Communities could also be involved in conservation. Many of the complaints and fears about elephants come from the risks of elephants getting too close to people. Education initiatives could help communities learn how to protect their crops from elephants and stay safe.
Communities could set up early warning systems for when elephants are close, construct barriers, and install things that would scare away elephants from their land.
Another option is the creation of wildlife corridors. These are areas of land used to connect different animal habitats and make it harder for elephants to come into contact with humans while moving and looking for food.
The honest truth is that no one really knows a perfect solution to the elephant issue in Africa. European countries like Germany are considering more regulations on hunting, African countries like Botswana want less regulations, and there is no easy way to deal with elephants in Botswana!
Final Thought
Is Botswana going to send 20,000 elephants to Germany? Probably not.
Instead, they used the threat as an opportunity to raise awareness about the situation in the country. While elephants are endangered, in Botswana their number is growing. They are dangerous to people and damaging to property.
What is the best way to solve the elephant issue in Africa? Some countries like Botswana argue that regulated hunting is both a great method of population control and raises money for other conservation efforts.
On the other hand, allowing rich western tourists to shoot elephants for fun makes a lot of people (including me) feel uncomfortable.
What do you think? I’m really curious about what you guys think of this issue? How would you solve an issue like Botswana is currently having with elephants?
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If the problem is because humam being is occupying areas that were not ocupied before, the problem is the humam beeing, not the elephants. We need to control humam overpopulation and greed for land.
Excellent comment!