Hilarius Hamutenya
The Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism (MEFT) will cull 723 animals in wildlife sanctuaries to support the government’s drought relief initiatives.
The animals to be culled include 30 hippos, 50 impalas, 60 buffalos, 300 zebras, 83 elephants, 100 elands, and various wildebeest.
The Cabinet endorsed the initiative after approving the “Namibia Livelihood Vulnerability Assessment and Analysis (VAA) Report,” which mandates the ministry to supply meat for the drought relief program.
Romeo Muyunda, the environment ministry’s spokesperson, said that national parks and communal areas with sustainable game populations will supply the animals.
The 2023 National Conference on Human-Wildlife Conflict Management concluded that reducing the number of elephants is necessary to mitigate human-wildlife conflicts.
“With the severe drought situation in the country, this type of conflict is expected to increase if no interventions are made. To this effect, 83 elephants from identified conflict areas will be culled and meat will be allocated to the drought relief program managed by the Office of the Prime Minister,” said Muyunda.
He said the culling is being conducted by professional hunters and safari outfitters contracted by the ministry and conservancies in specific areas.
“To date, 157 animals comprising different species were hunted in Mangetti National Park, 20 in Mahango, 70 in Kwando, 6 in Buffalo and 9 in Mudumo delivering 56 875 kilograms of meat,” he said.
According to Muyunda, the initiative will reduce the negative impact of drought on wild animal conservation in both national parks and communal areas.
“There is no doubt that drought is affecting most sectors, including conservation. 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,” said Muyunda.
Additionally, an agreement has been reached with the Office of the Prime Minister and Meatco for the ministry to provide processed game meat for the drought relief program.
