Zimbabwe will cull 200 elephants as it faces an unprecedented drought that has led to food shortages, a move that tackle a ballooning population of the animals, the country’s wildlife authority has said.
Zimbabwe had “more elephants than it needed”, the environment minister said in parliament on Wednesday, adding that the government had instructed the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority (ZimParks) to begin the culling process.
The 200 elephants would be hunted in areas where they had clashed with humans, including Hwange, home of Zimbabwe’s largest natural reserve, said the director general of ZimParks, Fulton Mangwanya.
Zimbabwe is home to an estimated 100,000 elephants – the second-biggest population in the world after Botswana.
Zimbabwe and Namibia are among a swathe of countries in southern Africa that have declared a state of emergency because of drought.
The move to hunt the elephants for food was criticised by some, not least because the animals are a major draw for tourists.
Namibia’s cull of elephants has been condemned by conservationists and the animal rights group Peta as shortsighted, cruel and ineffective. »
