Botswana's former president demands liberalization of ivory trade

Gaborone/Berlin – During a visit to Berlin, Botswana's former president, Mokgweetsi Masisi, appealed to the German government to support the legalization of the ivory trade. "Germany should open itself to the legal ivory trade; it should be liberalized," Masisi told Bild. In addition to the high costs of storage and security, the reasons for this are the value of ivory, which, according to Masisi, represents "a resource." The former president of Botswana, which is considered a model country for species conservation, said of the handling of ivory: "We are very ethical and transparent in this regard. We are a constitutional state. Why aren't we allowed to sell our own ivory? It's time to give back," Masisi appealed to Germany and the international community. "We want to trade." Ivory trade is internationally prohibited. African countries store the tusks they produce, sometimes burning them. Resistance to this practice is growing in southern Africa, led by Zimbabwe. A spokesperson for the Federal Environment Ministry told Bild that no proposal to amend the regulations has been made yet. "The federal government welcomes the successes in species conservation, for example in Botswana and Namibia," it said. Germany attaches great importance to dialogue with the countries. "This also applies to the issue of the ivory trade," the ministry spokesperson continued. Botswana is also making Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) an offer to take in 20,000 elephants in Germany. Botswana's diplomatic representatives and Masisi told Bild this. Ambassador John-Thomas Dipowe reiterated that a similar statement made just over a year ago also applies to the new coalition government. The new government in Botswana under President Duma Boko is continuing the course set by his predecessor, Masisi. Masisi told Bild: "The federal government should prepare to receive our elephants." Botswana's question to the Chancellor was: "Mr. Merz, do you want the 20,000 elephants? If Germany takes the first five, that's a good start." The condition for the relocation remains that the elephants roam freely in Germany. At the same time, Masisi said that the message that Merz wanted to advance relations with Africa had been positively received in southern Africa. "I am pleased that he takes us seriously – not like the Greens," said the former president, who handed over his duties to his successor, Boko Haram, in November. Merz did not want to "play politics over the heads of Africans." A dispute that escalated a good year ago with then-Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens) over trophy hunting and import restrictions on hunting trophies had upset Botswana and Namibia. The governments of both countries sent letters of protest to the German government at the time. After intensive conservation efforts, Botswana is now complaining about an overpopulation of elephants and the danger the animals pose to the local population. At the meeting, Masisi symbolically presented a plush elephant to underline the offer of relocation.