Now a 2nd Country Will Cull Elephants to Feed Its People

Zimbabwe, Namibia both take the step
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 31, 2024 12:55 PM CDT
Updated Sep 18, 2024 1:27 PM CDT
Namibia Will Cull Zebras, Elephants to Feed Its People
   (Getty Images / michel tripepi)
UPDATE Sep 18, 2024 1:27 PM CDT

Zimbabwe will do what Namibia has done: It plans to cull 200 elephants to feed its people, who have been hit by an El Nino-triggered drought. The country last culled elephants in 1988, reports Reuters. "We are working on modalities on how we are going to do it," said a rep for Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority on Tuesday. The rep added the move will also help "decongest" the country's parks, which can support 55,000 elephants. "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." CNN notes that only Botswana has more elephants.

Aug 31, 2024 12:55 PM CDT

As Namibia suffers from its most extreme drought in a century, the government is resorting to extreme measures: 723 wild animals will be killed to feed the country's people and to reduce overall water usage by fauna. CNN reports animals currently living in national parks and communal areas with "sustainable game numbers" will be killed by professional hunters. The plan is to cull 83 elephants, 30 hippos, 60 buffalo, 50 impala, 100 blue wildebeest, and 300 zebras, per the country's Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism.

Some 150 animals have been killed already, resulting in 125,000 pounds of meat that was distributed to those in need. The animals were selected from areas where their population exceeds the amount of food and water available needed to sustain them. CNN notes the ministry expects the initiative will also reduce the likelihood that animals and humans clash as animals in search of food and water more frequently encroach on people.

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"This exercise [is] necessary and is in line with our constitutional mandate where our natural resources are used for the benefit of Namibian citizens," the ministry said, per CBS News. As far as those citizens go, the Washington Post cites a July report from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification that estimated 1.4 million people, or 48% of Namibia's population, face "high acute food insecurity." The UN said last week that 84% of the country's food reserves have been used up. (More Zimbabwe stories.)

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