Botswana's Minister of Environment and Tourism, Dumizweni Mthimkhulu, is appealing to the German government not to impose stricter regulations on the import of hunting trophies from African countries.
Mthimkhulu told a press conference in Berlin on Wednesday that he had spoken to German Environment Minister Steffi Lemke on Tuesday and invited her to travel to Botswana to take a look at the situation on the ground. Lemke, he said, had told him that she unfortunately did not have time to travel to Africa.
"But it is extremely important that she does," he said.
In January, the Belgian parliament unanimously decided to ban the import of hunting trophies of endangered species into the country. There is great concern among African countries that others could follow suit.
Mthimkhulu emphasized that trophy hunting is a very important source of income for the Botswana population, with around 50 communities benefitting from hunting to the tune of around €2 million ($2.16 million) per year.
He also referred to the regional overpopulation of elephants. Every day, a person is attacked and sometimes killed by wild animals, he explained. Mthimkhulu had previously travelled to the United Kingdom and France to present his concerns to those governments.
Animal rights activists have long been calling for a ban on the import of hunting trophies of endangered species into Germany, which is by far the largest importer of hunting trophies of internationally protected animal species in the European Union.
According to preliminary figures from Germany's Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, there were 650 trophy imports last year.
Almost two years ago, Lemke announced that she wanted to further restrict imports to Germany. However, there is still no legislative initiative from the German government.