Following reports that Botswana intends to lift a 2014 trophy hunting ban, the social media and the international press have been awash with reports that some animal activists and tourists planned to boycott Botswana’s tourism industry.
Botswana’s cabinet ministers last week endorsed the lifting of a four-year ban against trophy hunting of elephants on public land.
The move comes amid growing tension over the nation’s elephant population, with some arguing that the number of elephants has grown and that the animals are damaging crops.
The country is home to the world’s largest elephant populations, with estimates putting the number at about 130,000 elephants.
In a Facebook post on Monday, Masisi insisted that he was “not going to be intimidated while wildlife kill our people.”
“I run a consultative government. We have a problem with human-wildlife conflict. I never said we will go all out and kill all elephants in Botswana,” Masisi said.
He revealed that he has offered his critics some of the elephants and “they are welcome to help us reduce their population.”