(Posted 26th September 2024)
Courtesy of African Elephant News and The Straits Times / Mary Taruvinga, New Zimbabwe via AllAfrica
Zimbabwe’s wildlife authority on Sept 18th 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.
Meanwhile has the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) director general, Fulton Mangwanya announced that culling of elephants will go ahead despite strong criticism and from some conservationists.
He was speaking to journalists on the sidelines of a signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between ZimParks and Defend, a wildlife protection organisation, held in Chizarira National Park in Binga Friday.
Mangwanya said he was getting pressure in form of threats and money offers to stop the imminent programme.
“You know, when you are talking of the issue of culling, there are some emotions which are actually stirred, which is nonsense,” he said. “….because if you look at the real issue, we have got a lot… a number of elephants that is actually over the ecological carrying capacity of our parks.
We are going to cull 200 (elephants), but those that die because of climate change are even more than 200. So, if we count 200 and we find it’s not enough, we have got every sovereign right to kill more because we have got over 85 000 elephants, almost close to 100 000. We are supposed to be having something like maybe around 60 000 or less, but you know, people think otherwise, but we will do what we think is best for our nation,”.
ZimParks plans to cull 200 elephants, dry and distribute the meat to starving communities around its national parks.
Systems that will determine eligible beneficiaries are already in place according to the authority.
“We can’t leave people dying of hunger when we have got overpopulation of elephants. “Elephants which are destroying their own habitat, elephants which are destroying habitat for other animals, elephants which are causing erosion, elephants which are destroying everything and killing people.
So indeed, we are going to count 200 elephants, and I don’t think we will listen toanything because right now I’m receiving quite a lot of these reports, some are evenpledging to say we’ll give you money so that you don’t kill the elephants.
The number is not sustainable, and we believe in sustainable use as a country, but because of these pushes from regional bodies …we can’t keep on watching.
We are suffering because of the good conservation that we have done in Zimbabwe, or Southern Africa in general, and someone prescribes to say don’t do this, don’t do this,” he noted.
Mangwanya also said it is worrying to note the increase in human-wildlife conflict.
“When people are being killed, like 60 who died last year, no one wants to mention about it, no one wants to come with contribution to say where are the children, where are the orphaned children, let’s see was there a breadwinner, they don’t talk about that,” he said.
Trade in ivory or elephant hide is impossible due to tensions fanned by conservationists, the parks boss highlighted.
“Kill one elephant and they make noise, they even bar us from making money out of the hides to sell the hides, we are not allowed to do that. So by the end of the day, you’ll find this is neo-colonialism in a way, because Zimbabwe should be allowed to do what it wants.
Right now, we are doing it internally, we want to kill, utilise the meat, we are not exploiting, they still make noise. You send them to China, they make noise. You say we want to sell the hides; they make noise.
You want to sell the ivory, they make noise. So, by the end of the day as a sovereign State we have to do what is good for our nation. We will not watch and see our people dying of hunger, especially those surrounding the parks where we have got these elephants.
So indeed yes, we are going to kill 200 or even more if they don’t actually suffice the need,” he said.
Zimbabwe is home to over 80 000 elephants with its biggest conservancy, Hwange National Park, accommodating between 45 000 and 55 000 elephants against a carrying capacity of 15 000.
ZimParks says the elephants are too many to an extent that they are destroying their own habitat. The jumbos also move to human settlements in search of food and water, which result in human wildlife conflict.
A total of 30 people were killed by wildlife this year, with elephants accounting for 60 % of the deaths.
