Botswana, home to the largest elephant population on earth, is preparing to allow more elephants to be killed by trophy hunters in 2026, a decision that has once again placed the country at the centre of a fraught global debate over conservation and who should decide the fate of wildlife.
A draft government quota released under the Wildlife Conservation and National Parks Act raises the number of elephants permitted for trophy hunting in 2026 to 430, up from 410 in 2025 and 290 when Botswana lifted a five-year hunting moratorium in 2019. The increase, officials say, reflects population pressures in a country that hosts more than 130,000 elephants, nearly a third of Africa’s total.
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