By Ezekiel David
Zimbabwean wildlife authorities announced plans to cull 200 elephants to provide food relief to communities severely impacted by a devastating drought, the worst in four decades.
68 million people in southern Africa have been affected by the drought brought on by El Nino, which has destroyed crops and caused severe food shortages.
“We can confirm that we are planning to cull about 200 elephants across the country. We are working on modalities on how we are going to do it,” stated Tinashe Farawo, spokesperson for the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority (Zimparks). The elephant meat will be distributed to drought-stricken communities.
The cull, which is Zimbabwe’s first since 1988, is intended to kill elephants in the districts of Hwange, Mbire, Tsholotsho, and Chiredzi. The decision is in line with one made recently by Namibia, a neighbour, which killed 83 elephants for the same reason.
Zimbabwe’s elephant population has surpassed its carrying capacity, with over 84,000 elephants in parks designed for 55,000. “It’s an effort to decongest the parks in the face of drought. The numbers are just a drop in the ocean because we are talking of 200 (elephants) and we are sitting on plus 84,000, which is big,” Farawo explained.
The drought has exacerbated human-wildlife conflicts, with 50 Zimbabweans losing their lives to elephant attacks last year.
Zimbabwe has been promoting the reopening of the ivory and live elephant trade through the UN’s Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), citing its conservation efforts and increasing elephant population as reasons. The nation presently has ivory stockpiles worth about $600,000 that it is unable to sell.
(Source: Reuters)
