Zimbabwe to cull 50 elephants as population exceeds reserve capacity

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Meat will feed locals while the ivory will go to the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority

Agence France-Presse |
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Zimbabwe plans to cull 50 elephants to manage overpopulation, distributing meat locally while ivory remains state property. Photo: AP

Zimbabwe plans to cull dozens of elephants and distribute the meat for consumption in an effort to manage the growing elephant population, according to a statement from its wildlife authority on Tuesday.

The country is home to the second-largest elephant population in the world, following Botswana.

The cull will take place at a large private game reserve in the southeast and will initially target 50 elephants, as stated by the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority (ZimParks)

It did not say how many of the animals would be killed in total or over what period.

An aerial survey in 2024 showed the reserve, the Save Valley Conservancy, had 2,550 elephants, more than triple its carrying capacity of 800, ZimParks said.

At least 200 have been translocated to other parks over the past five years.

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“Elephant meat from the management exercise will be distributed to local communities while ivory will be state property that will be handed over to the ZimParks for safekeeping,” it said.

Zimbabwe is unable to sell its stockpile of tusks due to a global ban on ivory trading.

Tuesday’s announcement came a day after four people were arrested in the capital, Harare, with more than 230kg (500 pounds) of ivory for which they were allegedly seeking a buyer.

In 2024, Zimbabwe culled 200 elephants as it faced an unprecedented drought that led to food shortages. It was the first major cull since 1988.

The move to hunt the elephants for food has drawn sharp criticism, particularly as the animals are a major tourism draw.

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