Namibia To Cull 723 Wild Animals And Distribute Meat To People Affected By Drought

Namibia plans to cull 723 wild animals, including 83 elephants, and distribute the meat to people struggling to access food due to the El Niño-induced drought.

In a statement issued on Monday, Namibia’s Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism announced that the cull will occur in parks and communal areas where animal populations exceed available grazing land and water supplies. Read the statement:

The Ministry with Cabinet approval is contributing game meat to support the drought relief programme by government.

The Ministry will contribute 723 animals comprising 30 Hippos, 60 buffalos, 50 impalas, 100 blue Wilderbeast, 300 Zebras, 83 elephants and 100 elands.

The animals are sourced from national parks and communal areas with sustainable game numbers…

itel A70 256GB

$99USD

Buy on WhatsApp: +263715068543

Calls: 0772464000

The National Conference on Human Wildlife Conflict Management in 2023 resolved among other things that elephant numbers need to be reduced as a measure to assist in reducing prevailing cases of human-wildlife conflict.

With the severe drought situation in the country, conflicts are expected to increase if no interventions are made.

To this effect, 83 elephants from identified conflict areas will be culled, meat will be allocated to the drought relief program under the Office of the Prime Minister.

The Ministry said the cull aims to alleviate the negative impacts of drought on wildlife conservation in both national parks and communal areas.

It is estimated that over 200,000 elephants inhabit a conservation area spanning five southern African countries—Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Angola, and Namibia—making the region home to one of the largest elephant populations in the world.

More: Pindula News