HARARE, Sept 19 (AGCNewsNet) - The government of Zimbabwe has approved the culling of 200 elephants to alleviate the country’s food insecurity crisis and manage increasing wildlife-human conflicts, according to Tinashe Farawo, spokesperson for the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority.

Speaking to CNN on Monday, Farawo explained that the decision was made to help feed citizens facing hunger due to a severe drought that has exacerbated food shortages in the East African country. “We are targeting to cull 200 elephants,” Farawo confirmed.

He added that the culling would also mitigate the rising threat posed by the elephants to local communities. “The animals are causing a lot of havoc in communities, killing people. Last week, we lost a woman in the northern part of the country who was killed by an elephant. The previous week, the same thing happened. So, it [the culling] is also a way of controlling,” Farawo said.

According to local reports, more than 30 people have been killed in wildlife-human conflicts in Zimbabwe this year. The country is home to over 84,000 elephants, far exceeding the 55,000 the national parks can sustainably support.

Farawo further elaborated that the culling is part of efforts to reduce the overcrowded elephant population in Zimbabwe’s parks. “It’s an effort to decongest the parks in the face of drought. The numbers are just a drop in the ocean because we are talking of 200 [elephants] and we are sitting on plus 84,000, which is big,” he said.

Zimbabwe’s food insecurity has reached critical levels, with the United Nations reporting that over seven million people are at risk of acute hunger. The UN declared Zimbabwe “one of the hunger hotspots” following historic droughts linked to the El Niño weather pattern.

The decision to cull elephants in Zimbabwe, AGCNewsNet gathered mirrors similar steps taken by neighbouring Namibia in response to worsening drought conditions, aiming to tackle both food insecurity and wildlife-human conflicts.