Botswana criticised over elephant killings for independence festivities

Botswana, home to the world's largest elephant population, is marking the 60th anniversary of its independence from Britain with nationwide celebrations on Wednesday. The Ministry of Environment and Tourism issued a licence authorising the hunting of 23 elephants and other wild animals across eight districts to supply meat for the festivities.

The decision has drawn condemnation from animal welfare advocates. Oaitse Nawa, chairman of the Botswana-based Elephant Protection Society, warned that killing elephants for celebratory feasting risks normalising the practice and could encourage poaching by suggesting government-sanctioned killing is acceptable. He noted that elephants already suffer disrupted social structures from being repeatedly driven off by gunfire.

Some residents raised concerns on social media about consuming the meat during an ongoing foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, which has prompted containment measures. In Maun, a tourism town in the northwest, a community elder said buffalo should have been allocated instead, citing the elephant's particular cultural and ecological importance.

Local media published images of residents gathering around elephant carcasses with knives to collect portions. In the Chobe district, a member of parliament voiced concern after people reportedly scrambled for meat at a school, calling for future distributions to be packaged and organised more fairly so elderly residents, pregnant women and people with disabilities are not disadvantaged.

Botswana has more than 130,000 elephants, and communities living alongside them have long complained of crop destruction and safety risks. Authorities defend regulated hunting as a tool for managing human-wildlife conflict and funding local development, citing 15.6 million pula raised last year from special elephant quotas. Trophy hunting was banned between 2014 and 2019 before being reinstated, and it has continued under current President Duma Boko.