The Zimbabwean government plans to slaughter 200 elephants to feed the population of the African country, which is at risk of “acute famine”, a term used by the United Nations.
In August, a UN report said a prolonged drought had destroyed more than half of Zimbabwe’s agricultural harvest and left some 7.6 million people food insecure – about 50% of the country’s population.
Tinashe Farawo, a spokeswoman for the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority, told US broadcaster CNN on Monday (16) that the country now has more than 84,000 elephants, about double its “capacity of 45,000”.
Zimbabwe has the second largest elephant population in the world, behind only Botswana.
Earlier this month, Namibia also announced plans to cull more than 700 wild animals, including elephants and hippos, to feed its population.
The announcements by both countries have been criticized by environmentalists. “The government must have more sustainable and environmentally friendly methods to deal with the drought without affecting tourism,” Farai Maguwu, director of the non-profit Center for Natural Resource Governance, said in comments published by the English newspaper The Guardian.
“We have demonstrated that we are poor custodians of natural resources and that our appetite for illicit wealth knows no bounds, so this must end because it is unethical,” he added.
However, conservationist Chris Brown, CEO of the Namibia Environment Chamber, told the same newspaper that elephants have a “devastating effect on habitat if their numbers are allowed to continue to increase exponentially.”
“They really do damage ecosystems and habitats, and they have a huge impact on other species that are less iconic and therefore matter less in the eyes of Eurocentric urban armchair conservationists. These species matter just as much as elephants,” he argued.
#Zimbabwe #cull #elephants #feed #population #drought #crisis