Zimbabwe’s plans to cull 200 elephants due to drought may deter eco-conscious tourists
Zimbabwe’s plans to cull 200 elephants due to drought may deter
eco-conscious tourists
The Straits Times
September 23, 2024
Zimbabwe’s wildlife authority on Sept 18 defended its planned cull of 200
elephants to ease pressure on drought-strained resources after criticism.
The body said the country’s first cull in around 35 years was necessary as
Zimbabwe is struggling to cope with an overpopulation of the massive
animals along with a withering drought that has left thousands facing food
shortages.
It came after neighbouring Namibia said it was planning to cull more than
700 wild animals, including 83 elephants, to relieve pressure on its
drought-affected grazing and water supplies, and to provide meat for food
aid programmes.
Both culls faced criticism from conservationists and animal rights groups.
But with Zimbabwe’s elephant population estimated at 84,000, the cull will
be a “drop in the ocean”, said Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority
(ZimParks) spokesman Tinashe Farawo.
ZimParks had earlier estimated there to be around 100,000 elephants in the
country.
“If you do the maths, it’s insignificant,” said Mr Farawo. He added that
while culling had been shown to be effective, “people don’t want to be
factual” about the emotive issue.
Their meat will be distributed to people in need of food aid and the tusks
will join a stockpile of 130 tonnes of ivory, the spokesman said.
The move to hunt the elephants for food was criticised by some, not least
because the animals are a major draw for tourists.
“The government must have more sustainable eco-friendly methods to dealing
with drought without affecting tourism,” said director of the non-profit
Centre for Natural Resource Governance Farai Maguwu.
“They risk turning away tourists on ethical grounds. The elephants are more
profitable alive than dead.”
Mr Farawo said Zimbabwe, which is estimated to have the second-biggest
elephant population in the world after Botswana, is “battling an
overpopulation of elephants”.
He added: “They knock down trees, they destroy everything, because the
numbers are not sustainable. Our ecosystem cannot sustain what we currently
have.”
Mr Farawo said the drought was sending elephants and other wildlife into
human settlements in search of food and water, and the encounters are
sometimes fatal.
In the first quarter of 2024, 30 people were killed in confrontations in
wildlife, with elephants accounting for 60 per cent of fatalities, he added.
In 2023, ZimParks received 3,000 distress calls related to wild animals.
Zimbabwe is meanwhile unable to sell its stockpile of tusks due to a global
ban on ivory trading. It also does not have the means to distribute
elephants to less congested parts of the country, with the last such move
in 2019.
Namibia and Zimbabwe are among a swathe of countries in Southern Africa
that have declared a state of emergency because of drought.