Zimbabwean authorities have approved the culling of approximately 200 elephants to address food shortages exacerbated by severe drought.
On Monday, Tinashe Farawo, spokesperson for the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority, confirmed the decision to cull the elephants. He highlighted that the move aims to mitigate food insecurity and manage escalating elephant-human conflicts resulting from the drought.
Farawo told CNN: “We are targeting to cull 200 elephants. The drought has intensified conflicts between elephants and local communities, leading to fatalities. Just last week, a woman was killed by an elephant in the northern region, and similar incidents have occurred recently. The culling also serves as a control measure.”
According to local media, over 30 people have been killed this year in various wildlife-human conflicts in Zimbabwe.
The United Nations has identified Zimbabwe as a critical hunger hotspot, with over seven million people at risk of acute hunger due to the ongoing drought.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported in early August that Zimbabwe’s food insecurity is worsening as the country faces historic droughts linked to the El Niño weather pattern.
This decision follows Namibia’s recent adoption of a similar measure to address food insecurity and manage wildlife-human conflicts amid drought conditions.
The Namibian Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism announced its plan to contribute 723 animals—including 30 hippos, 60 buffalos, 50 impalas, 100 blue wildebeests, 300 zebras, 83 elephants, and 100 elands—to its drought relief program.
