Zimbabwe Allows Elephant Destruction Due To Over Population, Meat Distributed To Society

Illustration of elephants in Zimbabwe. (Wikimedia Commons/JackyR)

JAKARTA - Zimbabwean authorities issued a permit to destroy at least 50 elephants in a nature reserve whose elephant count is three times as large as its habitat, wildlife authorities said on Tuesday.

Save Valley Conservancy in southern Zimbabwe is home to about 2,550 elephants, while its "capacity" is 800 elephants, Zimbabwe's Parks and Wildlife Management Authority said in a statement.

Over the past five years, the conservation agency has moved 200 elephants to another nature reserve to try to manage its elephant population.

Meat from the culling will be distributed to local residents to eat, while ivory from the killed animals will be handed over to the park authorities.

It is known that Zimbabwe is home to one of the largest elephant populations in the world. Climate change has exacerbated conflicts between humans and wildlife as these elephants penetrate the area where people live to find food and water.

The country, which is located south of the African continent, allowed the destruction of about 200 elephants last year, the first since 1988. At the time, authorities said they would distribute meat from the culling to people affected by the severe drought in the region, shortly after Namibia said it would do the same.