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Zimbabwe plans to cull 200 elephants to feed communities facing acute hunger after the worst drought in four decades, wildlife authorities said on Tuesday.
El Nino-induced drought has wiped out crops in southern Africa, impacting 68 million people and causing food shortages across the region.
“We can confirm that we intend to cull about 200 elephants across the country. We are working on the modalities on how we are going to do it,” Tinashe Farawo, spokesperson for the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority (Zimparks ), he told Reuters.
He said the elephant meat would be distributed to communities in Zimbabwe affected by the drought.
The cull, the first in the country since 1988, will be held in Hwange, Mbire, Tsholotsho and Chiredzi districts. It follows neighboring Namibia’s decision last month to cull 83 elephants and distribute meat to people affected by the drought.
It is estimated that more than 200,000 elephants live in a conservation area spread across five southern African countries – Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Angola and Namibia – making the region home to one of the largest elephant populations in the world .
Farawo said the culling is also part of the country’s efforts to decongest its parks, which can only support 55,000 elephants. Zimbabwe is home to over 84,000 elephants.
“It is an effort to decongest the parks in the face of drought. The numbers are just a drop in the ocean because we are talking about 200 (elephants) and we are sitting on more than 84,000, which is great,” he said.
With such a severe drought, human-wildlife conflicts may increase as resources become scarcer. Last year, Zimbabwe lost 50 people to elephant attacks.
The country, which is praised for its conservation efforts and the growth of its elephant population, has lobbied the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to reopen trade in ivory and live elephants.
With one of the largest elephant populations, Zimbabwe has about $600,000 worth of ivory stocks that it cannot sell.
