Zimbabwe plans to kill 200 elephants amid unprecedented drought and food shortages as part of a crackdown on its rapidly growing elephant population, the authority said on Friday.
The Harare Department of Environment announced on Wednesday that the country has “more elephants than it needs”, prompting the government to order the wildlife parks administration (ZimParks) to begin culling the animals.
The 200 elephants will be hunted in areas where there have been clashes with humans, including Hwange, home to the country’s largest wildlife reserve, said Fulton Mangwanya, general manager of ZimParks.
Last targeted killing decades ago
It is estimated that there are around 100,000 elephants in Zimbabwe, making it the country with the second largest elephant population after Botswana. Hwange alone is home to 65,000 of the large animals, four times the area could actually support, according to ZimParks. The last time elephants were culled in Zimbabwe was in 1988.
Namibia had previously announced it would cull 700 wild animals including elephants and hippos because of the worst drought in decades. The local environment ministry said early last week that about 160 animals had already been killed. The government says the cull is intended to relieve pressure on water supplies and provide meat for thousands of people who are going hungry as a result of the drought.
Strong criticism from animal rights activists
The government order has been met with fierce criticism from animal rights activists. Zimbabwe and Namibia are among a number of southern African countries that have declared states of emergency over the drought.
Source: Krone
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