The government of Zimbabwe is considering the mass culling of 200 elephants to provide food for citizens suffering from the country’s worst drought in decades.
With nearly half of the population facing severe hunger, Tinashe Farawo, spokesperson for the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority, confirmed the plan to CNN on Monday.
Zimbabwe is home to over 84,000 elephants, nearly double the estimated capacity of 45,000, Farawo explained. The decision follows a similar move by Namibia, which recently culled elephants and other wildlife to address food shortages caused by prolonged drought.
Zimbabwe’s Environment Minister, Sithembiso Nyoni, stated that the country has more elephants than the environment can support, leading to human-wildlife conflict. Overpopulation forces elephants to venture outside their natural habitats in search of resources, increasing encounters with humans.
Nyoni also suggested mobilizing communities to process and distribute the meat as a source of protein to those in need.
Zimbabwe, like other southern African nations, is experiencing severe drought conditions due to El Niño, a climate pattern that has drastically reduced rainfall in the region.
