About 160 animals were killed in a week.
Namibia's Environment Ministry has granted permission to slaughter more than 700 wild animals, mainly to feed a population starving due to the worst famine in decades drought.
AFP reports this.
Some 160 animals have already been killed as part of the government measure announced last week, which in addition to providing meat for thousands of people will ease the strain on pastures and water resources undermined by drought.
Professional hunters have been tasked with killing 30 hippos, 83 elephants, 60 buffalo, 300 zebras and 250 wildebeest, eland and impala. Most of these animals live in the country's national parks, which are protected areas.
The department noted that the slaughter of the first 157 animals made it possible to “provide 56,875 kg of meat.”
“Our aim is to carry out this operation in an environmentally friendly manner, minimising injuries as much as possible. We must separate animals that need to be hunted from those that are not,” said Romeo Muyunda, a ministry spokesman.
He added that in line with the global ban on the ivory trade, the tusks of the slaughtered elephants would be stored in government warehouses.
Namibia declared a state of emergency in May due to drought affecting several southern African countries.
The UN World Food Programme reported in August that about 1.4 million Namibians, more than half the population, were facing acute food insecurity, with cereal production down 53% and dam levels down 70% compared to last year.
Animal rights group Peta has published a letter on its website addressed to Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila asking him to “reconsider” the decision, which is “not only cruel but also dangerously short-sighted and has no long-term impact.”
A group of African researchers and environmentalists, for their part, said in a press release that the massacre has set a precedent for governments to “exploit wildlife and national parks under the guise of humanitarian needs.”
Environmentalists believe that the meat from the slaughtered animals will be distributed primarily in areas where the political opposition has great influence, as the ruling party seeks to shore up support ahead of the general elections in November.
The culling of wild animals should also significantly replenish the country's budget through hunting licenses. At the same time, conservationists refute the government's claim that Namibia is “overrun with elephants,” whose numbers are officially estimated at close to 20,000.
The World Wildlife Fund estimates that there are only about 415,000 elephants left on the entire African continent (compared to 3-5 million at the beginning of the 20th century). African and Asian elephants are considered endangered, with the exception of populations in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe, which are considered vulnerable.
Recall that in 2020, due to drought, the Namibian government took more humane measures – 170 elephants were sold alive at auction. In this case, buyers had to document the ability to provide the animals with all the necessary conditions.
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