By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Wildlife authorities in Zimbabwe on Tuesday confirmed that at least 200 elephants will be culled in order to provide food for communities suffering acute food shortages.
This follows the extreme weather conditions that has induced drought, affecting cash crops in southern Africa, impacting 68 million people and causing food shortages across the region.
“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,” Reuters quoted Tinashe Farawo, Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority (Zimparks) spokesperson as saying.
Heritage Times HT reports that in the neighbouring Namibia, 700 wild animals, including elephants, zebras and hippos were recently slaughtered and distributed as meat to the communities struggling with food insecurity.
Read Also: Namibia Defends Controversial Culling Of 700 Wild Animals
This was also as a result of the drought caused by extreme weather condition described as the worst in the last 100 years. El Niño is a natural climate pattern which has led to sharply reduced rainfall in the region.
The planned culling will be the first in the country since 1988 and will take place in Hwange, Mbire, Tsholotsho and Chiredzi districts of Zimbabwe.
More than 200,000 elephants are estimated to live in a conservation area spread over five southern African countries – Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Angola and Namibia.
The region is seen as home to one of the largest elephant populations globally.
Farawo said the culling is also part of the country’s efforts to decongest its parks, which can only sustain 55,000 elephants. Zimbabwe is home to over 84,000 elephants.
Read Also: Namibia To Feed Communities Suffering Food Shortage With 700 Elephants, Zebras
“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,” he said.
Such a severe drought according to experts sparks human-wildlife conflicts, as a result of lean resources.
Last year Zimbabwe lost 50 people to elephant attacks.
