Namibia has announced plans to cull 723 wild animals, including 83 elephants, to provide meat to communities severely affected by a prolonged drought across southern Africa, according to the environment ministry. The culling will occur in parks and communal areas where authorities have determined that animal populations exceed the capacity of available grazing land and water resources, as stated in a release on Monday.
Southern Africa is experiencing its most severe drought in decades, with Namibia depleting 84% of its food reserves last month, as reported by the United Nations. Nearly half of Namibia’s population is anticipated to face significant food insecurity in the coming months. The environment ministry highlighted that, without intervention, human-wildlife conflicts are likely to increase due to the harsh conditions.
To address these challenges, the ministry plans to cull 83 elephants from areas identified as conflict zones and allocate the meat to the drought relief program. Additionally, Namibia will cull 30 hippos, 60 buffalo, 50 impala, 100 blue wildebeest, 300 zebra, and 100 eland. So far, professional hunters and government-contracted companies have hunted 157 animals, resulting in over 56,800 kilograms of meat.
“This initiative is necessary and aligns with our constitutional mandate to utilize natural resources for the benefit of Namibian citizens,” the environment ministry stated. Last year, hundreds of elephants died in Botswana and Zimbabwe due to drought conditions. The region, which includes Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Angola, and Namibia, is home to one of the largest elephant populations globally, with an estimated 200,000 elephants living in a conservation area spanning these countries.
