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JOHANNESBURG – The president of Botswana said the criticism of his government's anti-poaching policy was "nothing but hysteria," according to reports that poachers were killing more elephants in a country where the country is living. largest population of African elephants.
President Mokgweetsi Masisi's remark came after ecologists worried that the Botswana Wildlife Department had been stripped of the weapons needed for the sometimes dangerous work of thwarting armed poachers.
"This fantasy of linking poaching of any kind to a purported disarmament of the wildlife department is nothing but hysteria," Masisi said Saturday after returning to China.
Elephants Without Borders, a conservation group, said this month that the results of an ongoing elephant census in Botswana indicate that poaching has surged. The peak coincided with the disarmament of the anti-poaching units, the group said.
The country of southern Africa has long been a haven for elephants on a continent where tens of thousands of people have been killed over the years for their ivory. A study conducted a few years ago indicated that Botswana had 130,000 elephants.
The Botswana army has killed poachers suspected of crossing the border illegally, a crackdown deemed necessary by some environmentalists but criticized by neighboring countries.
The Masisi government, which took office this year, said that weapons had been removed from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks in accordance with legislation prohibiting the department from possessing them.
An official has already indicated that the weapons in question are military weapons, indicating that the department retains certain firearms. According to the government, all security agencies have been involved in anti-poaching operations since the 1980s.
Accustomed to international praise for conservation efforts, Botswana has been examined by groups such as PETA, who suggest that an uproar over the issue of guns could harm wildlife tourism.
"As the Botswana government moves to a new anti-poaching policy, it remains to be seen whether the poaching peak is an isolated incident or reflects a disturbing new trend," said another group, WildAid.
In repelling critics, Masisi said that the fact that elephants flourished in Botswana is a tribute to the country's conservation approach.
"Most are found here," he said. "It's not a coincidence – it's us who made them."
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Follow Christopher Torchia on Twitter at www.twitter.com/torchiachris
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