African country of Namibia has decided to kill elephants, hippos and other wild animals to feed its hungry population. As many as 723 animals have been identified to be culled for food, Namibian government authorities said as the African nation is battling the worst drought in 100 years.
What is happening in Namibia?
Namibia usually gets maximum rainfall in February. However, it received less than 20 per cent of needed rainfall this year, reports quoted experts as saying. The country is heavily dependent on agriculture and livestock which need rain to flourish. Between 2013 and 2019, Windhoek declared a drought emergency thrice.
The situation is dire in Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia as well.
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El Nino and climate change have struck Namibia and neighbouring African nations so bad that they have declared "drought emergencies."
Nearly half of the 2.5 million Namibian population is expected to experience high levels of food insecurity during the period from July to September, AL Jazeera said in a report. About 84 per cent of the country’s food reserves have been exhausted as a result of the drought, reports quoted the United Nations as saying.
The UN reportedly warned that the current drought is contributing to cases of acute malnutrition and even death in Namibian children under the age of five.
Are all animals to be shot for food?
300 Zebras, 100 antelopes, 100 blue wildebeest, 83 elephants, 60 buffalos, 50 impalas and 30 hippopotamuses have been selected by the government to be killed for meat. Professional hunters will be contacted to cull the selected 723 animals from across national parks, reports said.
However, as many as 157 wild animals have already been gunned down to source 56,875 kg of meat for the public. The official statement didn't leave any information on which animals have been culled so far and over what period.
Not an ecological concern, as things stand
There are over 24,000 wild elephants in Namibia. With the drought condition worsening, human-animal conflict is also on the rise with elephants invading human settlements.
The animals will be selected in such a way that the hunt will in no manner affect their existence. Areas prone to man-animal conflict will also be considered for the culling along with zones where their numbers are more than water, grazelands and other resources available for them.