Namibia’s Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism has announced its plan to cull many animals, including 83 elephants. Many will be culled from national parks with large wildlife populations.
According to Africa News, 84% of Namibian residents’ food reserves have been depleted, and immediate intervention is needed. The culling will ensure struggling residents receive game meat from these intensive procedures.
The statement also indicated the amount and type of animals that will be culled and the location from which they will be retrieved. The parks include Namib Naukluft Park, Mangetti National Park, Bwabwata National Park, Mudumu National Park and Nkasa Rupara National Park.
Professional hunters and other qualified individuals will do the culling. This department in the government has also stated their reasoning behind these drastic measures:
“This offtake will help mitigate the negative impact of drought on wildlife conservation in both our National Parks and communal areas… By reducing wildlife numbers in certain parks and communal areas where we believe the population exceeds the available grazing and water resources, we can better manage the current grazing pressure and water availability.”
The allocated wildlife type and numbers have been indicated as the following:
- 30 hippos
- 60 buffalo
- 50 impalas
- 100 blue wildebeests
- 300 zebras
- 83 elephants
- 100 eland
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