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Amid food insecurity, Zimbabwe orders 200 elephants killed
2024-09-16 00:04:50 / BOTA
Zimbabwe will allow the killing of 200 elephants for the first time since 1988 amid concerns about food shortages after an unprecedented drought has hit the country.
The southern African country has "more elephants than it needs", Zimbabwe's environment minister told a parliamentary session last week.
According to local media reports, hunters have been ordered to kill 200 animals.
The elephant hunt will take place in areas where "there have been clashes with people", including Hwange, home to Zimbabwe's largest game reserve, said Parks and Wildlife Authority head Fulton Mangwanya.
Citing the experience of neighboring Namibia, which has previously killed elephants for human consumption, officials plan to dry the meat, package it and deliver it to food-starved communities.
The World Food Program says Zimbabwe is facing its worst drought in over 40 years. This means there is little to eat in many areas as crops dry up and are poor.
A number of experts and animal rights activists believe that killing the elephant could negatively affect the country's image and discourage tourists from visiting Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe is home to around 100,000 elephants, the second largest population in the world after Botswana.
The World Wildlife Fund estimates that there are only about 415,000 elephants left on the continent, down from three to five million at the beginning of the 20th century. Asian and African elephants are considered endangered, with the exception of populations in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe, where they are classified as "vulnerable".
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