GABORONE — Animal rights activists condemned Botswana’s decision to authorize the killing of 23 elephants to provide meat for nationwide independence celebrations marking 60 years since independence from Britain, BBC News reported.
A licence issued by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, seen by local media, authorized hunting of 23 elephants and other wild animals for “complimentary purposes.” Botswana holds the world’s largest elephant population, with more than 130,000 animals. Elephant Protection Society chairman Oaitse Nawa told the BBC the slaughter for celebratory feasting could undermine conservation and encourage poaching by normalizing government-sanctioned kills.
The 23 elephants were allocated across eight districts. Local media published images of residents gathering around carcasses and sharing meat; it was not immediately clear how many animals had been killed by Wednesday morning. Some residents also raised concerns about eating game meat amid a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak. The BBC said it had asked the government for comment.
Sources: BBC News
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