President of Botswana threatens to send 20,000 elephants to Germany. Mokgweetsi Masisi: Germans must "live with the animals as they try to dictate to us" Botswana is home to the largest population of elephants in the world, around 130,000.
Critics of Germany's environmentalist-led environment ministry are targeting elephant hunting trophies for wealthy Western clients. In 2019, Botswana lifted a total ban on hunting, introduced five years previously to reverse the decline in populations of elephants and other species.