Botswana is home to the largest elephant population in the world, 37 percent of the continent’s endangered elephant population. Elephant populations in Africa declined by 30 percent — around 144,000 elephants — from 2007 to 2014.  Elephants have been migrating to Botswana because it was a well protected, safe haven.

 Elephants are special and important to the Botswana tourism industry, the world and to future generations. Recently 87 poached elephant carcasses have been found that were murdered in Botswana. 

In May, 2018, Botswana disarmed its anti-poaching, one month after President Mokgweetsi Masisi took office. The country previously had a shoot-to-kill policy against poachers. The BBC reports a "senior official in the president's office, Carter Morupisi, told journalists in Botswana at the time that the 'government has decided to withdraw military weapons and equipment from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks', but he did not explain why."

If all elephant poaching were discontinued now elephants would still have a hard time recovering. 

Elephants are facing a poaching genocide, now is the time to increase elephant protections worldwide, not withdraw protection. Elephants are highly intelligent, social and emotional animals and should be accorded non-human person status. 

President Mokgweetsi Masisi and the Botswana government, you are entrusted with the lives of the world’s elephants and also rhinos. Please do the right thing to preserve and protect these magnificent, sentient creatures, as Botswana has been the leader of protecting elephants in the past.

Reinstate the highest level of protection to elephants and rhinos in Botswana and reinstate the shoot-to-kill policy against poachers. Accord elephants non-human person status, their lives and their continued presence on earth in the future depend on you! Don’t let them become extinct.