An elephant stretching its trunk to eat the branches of a tree near Camp Khwai River Lodge by Orient Express in Botswana , within the Moremi Game Reserve Wild . Botswana said to protect the elephants. The Minister of Environment of Botswana announced that commercial hunting of elephants and other wild animals shall be prohibited from 2014 to prevent further population decline of these species. Today, eight months after hip fracture untimely and scandal starring the king of Spain while hunting elephants in Botswana , the Minister of Environment of the country told the BBC that " the hunting of wild animals for sport or for trophies no longer supports our commitment to preserve the local wildlife . " As collected at the time Salva la Selva , Professor Rudi van Aarde , elephant expert and prominent environmentalist, discusses in his study " Elephants : Facts and fables " Africa currently has only half the elephants with which counted for 40 years. Between 1970 and 1989 poaching reduced the number of elephants to about 500,000 . Specifically in Botswana , there are now some 130,000 elephants. This represents one third less than the elephant itself was in Botswana at the beginning of the twentieth century . For his part , Mr Rann , who coordinated the safari in which participated the King , supported the idea that hunting elephants actually makes them a good. Many mass media picked up this idea and presented as an argument of the supposed benefits of hunting wild animals. " There are too many elephants " repeating one another. Botswana Minister now with your decision belies these statements very rigorous and trying to justify the figure untouchable until recently Spanish king . The monarch publicly admitted that he was sorry , that he was wrong and did not happen again . Rainforest Rescue holds that species conservation is a decision much more productive and successful than the fun of billionaires , which can pay up to $ 30,000 to kill each elephant . Botswana welcome the decision to ban the hunting of elephants , and we recommend the immediate entry into force of the measure , which however is delayed until early 2014. Illegal ivory trade since 1989 was regulated international trade in ivory , last year saw the highest number of seizures of illegal ivory . This business also revives elephant hunts . The ivory is used to make souvenir or as a status symbol , and each piece made ??of this material represents a dead elephant . Before the scandal starring the king of Spain , Rainforest Rescue responded with a protest cyberaction attended by more than 11,500 (eleven thousand five hundred ) . GeaPhotowords collected and illustrated an opinion column we wrote with our impressions of the scandal that filled covers earlier this year: De Reyes , Ecologists and Elephants . Rainforest Rescue requires prohibit commercial and sport hunting of animals worldwide. Killing animals for fun and hang their heads as trophies in the halls of the very rich is nonsense