The on-going drought in southern African has killed scores of wildlife and causing human starvation. Both Namibia and Zimbabwe announced plans to slaughter hundreds of wild elephants as a means of providing protein to drought-stricken populations On Monday Zimbabwe announced it would allow the killing of 200 elephants, so the meat could be distributed to nearby hungry communities. The wildlife management agency said the elephants would be culled from an overpopulation in the country's arid west including Hwange National Park where an estimated 45,000 elephants live. According to the authorities the park can only support 15,000. Zimbabwe's overall population in about 100,000
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| Namibia desert elephants |
The El Niño drought intensified by climate change has worsened human-elephant conflicts and increased elephant mortality. More than 100 elephants have died from drought. Zimbabwe's environment minister who gave the go-ahead for the cull said she was preparing to do,"what Namibia has done so that we can cull the elephants and mobilize the women to dry the meat, package it and ensure that it gets to some communities that need the protein.”
Namibia authorized the killing of 723 animals including 83 elephants, which will be taken from the country's five national parks. A environment department spokesperson said the culling was in line with a constitutional mandate to use natural resources to benefit citizens. Next door Botswana is richer than its neighbors, and has the world's largest elephant population at 130,000, but has not indicated that it intends to slaughter animal residents to feed its human population. [photo credit: O.Elvins]