{"id":41571,"date":"2021-06-06T17:56:10","date_gmt":"2021-06-06T15:56:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/?p=41571"},"modified":"2021-06-06T16:00:36","modified_gmt":"2021-06-06T14:00:36","slug":"zimbabwes-elephant-culling-stirs-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.cc\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zimbabwes-elephant-culling-stirs-debate","title":{"rendered":"Zimbabwe\u2019s Elephant Culling Stirs Debate"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press<\/a> – Zimbabwe<\/a>. <\/strong><\/span>Al Jazeera<\/b> – AFRICA\u2019S elephant population has been dangerously declining \u2013 but not in Zimbabwe.<\/p>\n

Authorities in the southern African country estimate that the number of its mammoth mammals currently stands at slightly more than 100,000 \u2013 up from 84,000 in 2014, when the last census was conducted \u2013 for a carrying capacity of about 45,000.<\/p>\n

The surplus has prompted the government in recent weeks to mull the mass killing of elephants \u2013 something the country last did in 1988 \u2013 as a population-control option in order to protect other wildlife, as well as the country\u2019s vegetation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are overpopulated when it comes to elephants in this country,\u201d Tinashe Farawo, spokesman of the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority (ZimParks) told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n

Authorities maintain the growing elephant population poses a risk to other animals by causing habitat destruction, and has also led to an increase in the instances of dangerous human-wildlife interaction, with dozens of deaths reported in recent years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have vultures that breed in trees. The vultures are no longer breeding in Hwange (National Park); they have moved to other places because elephants have the habit of knocking down trees,\u201d Farawo said.<\/p>\n

He noted that the plan is still in its \u201cformative stages\u201d and a final decision has yet to be made, but stressed that culling is permitted by Zimbabwe laws.<\/p>\n

But the Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG), an environmental and human rights watchdog in Zimbabwe documenting poaching, opposed the plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cCulling will eventually lead to extinction of these elephants,\u201d spokesperson Simiso Mlevu told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is just the beginning,\u201d he said. \u201cVery soon we will be forced to travel to other countries just to see an elephant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed the African forest elephant as \u201ccritically endangered\u201d and the African savanna elephant as \u201cendangered\u201d, citing a surge in poaching and loss of habitat for the declining numbers.<\/p>\n

According to the Swiss-based group\u2019s latest assessments, the number of African forest elephants dropped by more than 86 percent over a period of 31 years. Meanwhile, the population of African savanna elephants fell by at least 60 percent over the past half a century.<\/p>\n

Zimbabwe has the continent\u2019s second-largest elephant population after Botswana, which boasts about a third of Africa\u2019s 415,000 remaining elephants.<\/p>\n

Besides culling, another option considered by Zimbabwean authorities is to move elephants from areas with a high population. But both are hampered by lack of funds, Farawo said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an expensive process and right now we have no money,\u201d he added. \u201cIn 2018, we moved 100 elephants and the exercise cost us $400,000.\u201d<\/p>\n

Farawo said ZimParks, a government body, requires at least $25m annually for its operations. But the body has not received any funding from Zimbabwe\u2019s cash-strapped government since 2001.<\/p>\n

Farawo said his organisation needed revenue to conserve elephants but its finances took a big hit in 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic severely affected the country\u2019s tourism industry.<\/p>\n

In late April, Zimbabwe said it was planning to sell hunting licenses to kill 500 elephants to generate revenue. Trophy hunters are expected to pay between $10,000 and $70,000 depending on elephant size.<\/p>\n

The 500-elephant hunting quota, which is separate from the culling plan, is allowed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), according to Farawo, who said that \u201celephants must pay for their upkeep\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe elephants also have to take care of themselves, so we must be allowed to trade in order for that to happen,\u201d Farawo said.<\/p>\n

\u201c[This] means that money must be generated, revenue coming off the elephants. Right now, tourism is dead, so people aren\u2019t coming to see the elephants.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Mlevu, of CNRG, said that culling would affect tourism \u2013 a position echoed by John Robertson, a prominent Zimbabwean economist.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt inflicts serious damage on wildlife,\u201d Robertson told Al Jazeera. \u201cLosing wildlife also reduces the prospects of tourism, which the country heavily relies on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Audrey Delsink, wildlife director of Humane Society International\/Africa, said killing elephants has \u201ca traumatic effect on the remaining population\u201d. She said it is for that reason that authorities in South Africa are using contraception as a population-control option.<\/p>\n

Noting that 76 percent of elephant populations in Africa cross borders, Delsink told Al Jazeera: \u201cManagement actions taken at an incorrect scale can have massive consequences and ripple effects that extend far beyond the targeted zone, area or population.<\/p>\n

\u201cTherefore, Zimbabwean management choices could have devastating consequences for transient elephants. The situation in Zimbabwe appears to be not so much about elephant numbers per se, but rather about funding the management authority \u2013 the elephants are simply a means to this end.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. Al Jazeera – AFRICA\u2019S elephant population has been dangerously declining \u2013 but not in Zimbabwe. Authorities in the southern African country estimate that the number of its mammoth mammals currently stands at slightly more than 100,000 \u2013 up from 84,000 in 2014, when the last census was conducted \u2013 for a carrying […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":41570,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4,35,15],"tags":[1493,2189,19],"class_list":{"0":"post-41571","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-all-news","8":"category-community","9":"category-homepage-english","10":"category-twitter","11":"tag-africa-press","12":"tag-africa-press-zimbabwe-2","13":"tag-zimbabwe"},"yoast_head":"\nZimbabwe\u2019s Elephant Culling Stirs Debate - zimbabwe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Al Jazeera - AFRICA\u2019S elephant population has been dangerously declining \u2013 but not in Zimbabwe. 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