Namibia: Hunting Elephants, Zebras to Feed Population

Namibia is battling one of the worst droughts in decades. This situation is causing a large number of people to die of starvation, and therefore the Ministry of Environment has planned to kill 723 wild animals, including 83 elephants, 300 zebras, 30 hippos, 60 buffaloes, 50 impalas, 100 gnu antelopes, and 100 cannas. The meat from this huge hunt will then be distributed to the public.

“The animals come from national parks and municipal areas with sustainable wildlife populations,” the ministry said in a statement. “The Council of Ministers by its decision No. 29.08.23/001 approved the Namibia Livelihood Vulnerability Assessment and Analysis Report, which requires the Ministry to support the drought relief program with meat supplies. The animals come from Namib Naukluft Park, Mangetti National Park, Bwabwata National Park, Mudumu National Park, and Nkasa Rupara National Park.” Preventing any controversy over the killing of elephants in particular, the ministry then goes on to clarify that “the National Conference on Management of Human-Wildlife Conflict held in 2023 found, among other things, that the number of elephants should be reduced to help reduce the incidence of human-wildlife conflict.”

According to Reuters, citing the United Nations, as of July 2024, Namibia has exhausted 84% of its food reserves, and nearly half of Namibia’s population will experience high levels of food insecurity in the coming months.

Professional hunters have already killed more than 150 animals, resulting in more than 56.8 thousand kilograms of meat.