Zimbabwean authorities have authorised the culling of 200 elephants to cope with the consequences of an unprecedented drought that has caused food shortages, writes The Guardian.
Head of Parks and Wildlife Fulton Mangwanya He said they would shoot elephants in areas where they found people, including the country’s largest wildlife reserve, Hwange. Officials plan to “mobilize women to dry the meat, package it and deliver it to communities that need the protein.”
Zimbabwe is home to around 100,000 elephants, the second largest population in the world after Botswana. More than 65,000 of them are in Hwange, four times the park’s capacity, according to authorities. Zimbabwe Environment Minister Sithembiso Nyoni She believes there are “more elephants in the country than necessary”. Adults consume around 300 kilos of leaves and grass a day and herds have destroyed large areas of vegetation, causing harm to people and other animals, she said. Nyoni referred to the experience of Namibia, where elephant hunting was also permitted, more than 700 in total.
The decision was criticized by some animal rights experts and activists, including the director of the nonprofit Center for Natural Resources Management. Farai Maguwucalling for more environmentally friendly practices and warning of the risk of an exodus of tourists.
This year, Zimbabwe is facing its worst food shortage in four decades due to drought caused by El Niño (a phenomenon that makes the equatorial Pacific Ocean no more than 3°C warmer than usual). According to the UN, 42% of the country’s inhabitants live in poverty; authorities say that around 6 million people will need food assistance during the lean season from November to March, RBC recalls.
