Namibia has begun culling more than 700 wild animals – including hippos, elephants, buffalo and zebras – in order to feed populations starving due to the worst drought in decades, the environment ministry announced on 3 September. The country declared a state of emergency in May due to abnormally high temperatures affecting several southern African countries. Some 160 animals have already been culled as part of the government measure announced last week, which will not only provide meat for thousands of people but also relieve pressure on pastures and water undermined by the drought.
Professional hunters were tasked with killing 30 hippos, 83 elephants, 60 buffalo, 100 blue wildebeest, 300 zebras, 100 elands and 50 impalas (two types of antelope). Most of these animals live in the country’s protected national parks. At least 157 of these 723 animals have already been killed, Romeo Muyunda, a spokesman for the ministry, told Agence France Presse, without giving any information on the duration of the process.
The sacrifice of the first 157 animals allowed “provide 56,875 kilograms of meat”the ministry said in a press release. “Our goal is to carry out this operation in a sustainable manner, minimizing trauma as much as possible.the spokesperson explained. We need to separate the animals that need to be hunted from those that don’t. » In line with a global ban on the ivory trade, tusks from slaughtered elephants will be stored in government warehouses.
1.4 million people suffer from food insecurity
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) reported in August that around 1.4 million Namibians, more than half the population, were severely food insecure, with cereal production down 53 percent and water levels in dams down 70 percent compared to last year.
The animal rights organization Peta published a letter on its website addressed to Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, asking him to “reconsider” This measure, “Not only cruel, but also dangerous in the short term and having no long-term effect”In this letter, Peta Vice President Jason Baker believes that logging could also unbalance ecosystems.
A group of African researchers and environmental activists, for their part, estimated in a press release that this massacre sets a precedent that authorizes governments “Exploiting protected wildlife and national parks under the guise of humanitarian needs”They question whether an environmental impact study, a game census and food insecurity assessments were carried out before deciding on the culling measure. They point out that this is happening on the eve of the November general elections in Namibia and believe that the meat is intended to be distributed in areas where the ruling party, the South West Africa People’s Organisation, has strong support.
The cull is also expected to generate significant revenue from the hunting licences granted, they add, denying that Namibia is overwhelmed by elephants, whose number is estimated at around 20,000 in the country. The World Wildlife Fund estimates that there are only about 415,000 elephants left on the continent (compared to between 3 and 5 million at the beginning of the 20th century).my century). African and Asian elephants are considered threatened with extinction, with the exception of populations in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe, which are considered vulnerable.
