Explained: Why is Namibia planning to cull elephants, zebras, and wildebeest amid drought?

Namibia is facing one of its worst droughts in decades, leaving a large part of the population without food. Now, the government has planned to cull wild animals to distribute meat among the people in areas worst hit.

The country already exhausted 84 per cent of its food reserves last month, according to the United Nations. Food insecurity is expected to reach high levels in the coming months.  

As per the environment ministry, the government will cull 83 elephants among 723 animals in parks and communal areas. It will take place in parks and communal areas where authorities believe animal numbers exceed available grazing land and water supplies.

“To this effect, 83 elephants from identified conflict areas will be culled, (and) meat will be allocated to the drought relief programme,” the ministry said. The country also plans to cull 30 hippos and 60 buffalo, as well as 50 impala, 100 blue wildebeest, 300 zebra and 100 eland.

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What is culling?

It is the process of selecting animals from their tribe group and killing them to reduce their size by removing certain individuals, mostly those weaker than the others.

One hundred and fifty-seven animals have already been hunted by professional hunters and companies contracted by the government, yielding more than 56,800 kilogrammes of meat.

“This exercise is necessary and is in line with our constitutional mandate where our natural resources are used for the benefit of Namibian citizens,” the environment ministry said.

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More than 200,000 elephants are estimated to live in a conservation area spread over five southern African countries - Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Angola and Namibia - making the region home to one of the largest elephant populations worldwide.

Why is the drought a yearly occurrence in Africa?

The El Nino event of 2023-24 led to extensive drought conditions throughout southern Africa, marked by delayed rainfall, prolonged mid-season dry periods, and exceptionally high temperatures. El Nino usually causes increased heat and dryness in southern Africa, but this season experienced unprecedented dry conditions in numerous regions.

Last year, as many as 23 out of 28 districts in Malawi were hit by the El Nino conditions and a preliminary assessment by the government estimated that up to two million farming households and 44 per cent of the national cropping area have been affected. In Zambia, one million hectares of the 2.2 million hectares planted with maize were affected.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, this is the worst drought the region has seen in 100 years.

Why hundreds of elephants died in Africa last year?

Southern African countries, home to the largest elephant population in the world, fear a rise in animal deaths in the coming months as food and water sources dwindle following a severe drought.

Botswana lost 300 elephants to drought last year, according to its environment ministry. Others like Zambia have also confirmed deaths of elephants in its national parks, with Minister of Environment Rodney Sikumba describing the drought as “devastating”.

“In the absence of water and food, you will see carcasses dotted around the parks.” The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority (Zimparks) said it had received $3 million from the country’s disaster fund to boost water supply in national parks, but its director general Fulton Mangwanya said this was not enough to save wildlife.

With inputs from Reuters