Zimbabwe and Namibia are among the countries in the region most severely affected by drought
Zimbabwean officials have announced that hundreds of elephants will be killed to feed the country’s population, which is suffering from severe hunger. Authorities in neighboring Namibia have made a similar decision in response to famine threats posed by prolonged droughts in the southern African region.
Tinashe Farawo, spokesperson for the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority (ZimParks), told Reuters on Tuesday that around 200 wild elephants would be slaughtered across the country and their meat distributed to drought-affected communities.
“We are working on modalities on how we are going to do it,” Farawo said. He added that the mammals would be hunted in areas such as Hwange, Mbire, Tsholotsho, and Chiredzi districts, where their number has grown beyond sustainable limits.
Zimbabwe and Zambia are among the southern African countries hardest hit by the El Nino-induced drought that has caused widespread crop failure.
In April, Zimbabwe declared a national disaster in response to the crisis, which it described as the worst in 40 years. In May, Harare reported that more than half of the country’s citizens would require food assistance this year. President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced at the time that his government needs $2 billion in aid to feed millions facing hunger.
In February, the landlocked nation received 25,000 tons of humanitarian wheat from Russia as part of Moscow’s pledge to help six food-insecure African countries.
ZimParks said in December that more than 100 elephants had died as a result of severe weather. On Tuesday, its spokesperson, Farawo, expressed concern over the possibility of more animals dying in the coming weeks due to thirst and hunger.
Zimbabwe has the world’s second-largest bush elephant population at about 100,000, behind only Botswana, which has over 130,000 of the mammals living on its territory, according to the African Wildlife Foundation.
Last week, Zimbabwean Environment Minister Sithembiso Nyoni told the national assembly that she had authorized the mass culling program because the country has “more elephants than our forestry can accommodate.”
Late last month, neighboring Namibia said it will kill 723 wild animals, including 83 elephants, 30 hippos, 60 buffalos, 50 impalas, 100 blue wildebeests, 100 elands, and 300 zebras, and distribute the meat to thousands of people struggling to find food.
