Zimbabwe is planning to cull 200 elephants in order to feed communities facing acute hunger due to a severe drought. This decision comes after the worst drought in four decades wiped out crops in southern Africa and impacted 68 million people, causing food shortages across the region. The elephant meat will be distributed to communities affected by the drought in various districts of Zimbabwe. This is the first culling of elephants in the country since 1988, and follows Namibia’s decision to cull 83 elephants last month for the same reason.
The culling is also part of Zimbabwe’s efforts to decongest its parks as they can only sustain 55,000 elephants while there are over 84,000 elephants in the country. Human-wildlife conflicts can escalate during severe droughts as resources become scarcer, resulting in attacks by elephants on people. Despite its conservation efforts and growing elephant population, Zimbabwe has been lobbying for the reopening of ivory and live elephant trade at the U.N.’s Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). The country currently has $600,000 worth of ivory stockpiles that it cannot sell. This decision to cull elephants has sparked debate and controversy, as some conservationists argue that culling should not be the solution to addressing hunger and human-wildlife conflicts.
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