Zimbabwe Set To Cull 200 Elephants
Zimbabwe plans to cull 200 elephants to manage an increasingly large population, with the meat distributed to communities frequently impacted by human-wildlife conflict.
In a statement to Parliament last week, Environment, Water and Climate Minister Sithembiso Nyoni claimed that Zimbabwe has “more elephants than it needs,” and announced that the government had directed the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority (ZimParks) to initiate the culling process.
ZimParks Director General Fulton Mangwanya indicated that the culling would occur in areas where elephants have clashed with humans, including Hwange, which is home to the country’s largest elephant population.
Speaking to the Voice of America, Minister Nyoni said:
We are having a discussion with ZimParks and some communities to do like what Namibia has done so that we can cull the elephants and mobilise the women to maybe dry the meat, package it, and ensure that it gets to some communities that need the protein.
The Ministry is working very hard to ensure that within the confines of the law, we can cull what is allowed for us to cull and be able to input into the Presidential feeding schemes to provide the protein.
Zimbabwe, which is estimated to be home to around 100,000 elephants, last culled elephants in 1988.
However, some experts dispute this figure, suggesting that the true population is closer to 50,000, as elephants frequently move across national boundaries.
This month, Namibia reported that it had already culled 160 wildlife animals as part of a planned cull of over 700, which includes 83 elephants, in response to its worst drought in decades.
Both Zimbabwe and Namibia, along with other countries in southern Africa, have declared a state of emergency due to the ongoing drought conditions.
Farai Maguwu, director of the nonprofit Centre for Natural Resource Governance, is among those who have condemned the decision to cull 200 elephants. Said Maguwu (via The Guardian):
Government must have more sustainable eco-friendly methods to dealing with drought without affecting tourism.
They risk turning away tourists on ethical grounds. The elephants are more profitable alive than dead.
We have shown that we are poor custodians of natural resources and our appetite for ill-gotten wealth knows no bounds, so this must be stopped because it is unethical.
Other critics argue that culling just 200 elephants will have little impact on managing the natural ecosystem, as this number is negligible.
They also point out that elephant meat does not address the immediate hunger needs of villagers, as it is not a staple food.
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