Namibia has been battling drought and hunger for months. Now the government wants to slaughter over 700 wild animals. Animal welfare organizations are raising the alarm.
According to the government, 157 animals have already been killed in various national parks. Almost 57,000 kilograms of meat have been distributed to the population.
B. Hoffmann / Imago
The Namibian government has made a drastic decision: the southern African country wants to allow over 700 wild animals to be shot. To satisfy hunger in the country, elephants, antelopes, buffalo, zebras and wildebeest are to be slaughtered. Animal rights activists are calling this the largest killing of wild animals in Namibia’s history.
The measure is necessary and in line with the constitutional mandate to “use natural resources for the benefit of the Namibian people,” the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism announced on Monday. The meat of the slaughtered wild animals will be distributed to the starving rural population.
Like many southern African countries, Namibia is also struggling with the consequences of a drought. It has hardly rained for months, and 84 percent of Namibia’s food reserves have already been used up, as the UN announced last week. In May, Namibia declared a state of emergency, saying it was the worst drought in 100 years. Experts attribute the dry period to the El Niño weather phenomenon, which leads to warmer, drier weather in some parts of the world and is particularly pronounced this year.
Eating wild animals is nothing new
However, the Namibian government does not only refer to the hunger crisis in the statement. Food and water shortages are also fuelling conflicts between humans and wild animals. In search of water, animals are increasingly penetrating human settlements and putting the population at risk.
According to the government, 157 animals have already been killed in various national parks and almost 57,000 kilograms of meat distributed to the population. A total of 723 animals are to be killed by professional hunters, including 83 elephants, 300 zebras, 30 hippos, 50 impalas, 60 buffalo and 100 wildebeest.
The consumption of wild animals is nothing new in Namibia. According to a government report, some of the species now on the kill list have been eaten in Namibia for some time. These include zebras, wildebeests and impalas. The consumption of wild animals is also widespread in other countries around the world, according to Rose Mwebaza, director of the Africa office of the United Nations Environment Programme, in the New York Times. As long as the killing of animals is in line with national and international obligations and laws, there is no cause for concern.
An election campaign gift?
Meanwhile, animal rights activists are raising the alarm. The organization Elephant-Human Relations Aid (EHRA) has written a petition calling this the “largest mass killing of wild animals in Namibia’s history.” It is calling on the government to stop the project and look for alternative solutions.
EHRA accuses the government of having made the decision without having any reliable knowledge of the impacts. There are no current wildlife counts, nor any assessment of the environmental and economic consequences. The organization also denies that wild animals compete with livestock and the surrounding population for resources. Keeping cattle and goats is not even allowed within the boundaries of national parks.
EHRA also refers to this year’s elections in Namibia. “The ruling Swapo party is facing increasing rejection from voters,” the petition states. The South-West Africa People’s Organization (Swapo) draws its votes primarily from the rural population, who would benefit most from the distribution of game meat under the new decision.
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