Wildlife body rejects elephant culling plans in southern Africa

Lusaka, Oct 2 (IANS) Zambia-based international conservation body African Rivers voiced opposition to plans for culling elephants in southern African countries after a severe drought recently hit the region.

While acknowledging that climate change events have had negative impacts not only on human beings but wildlife as well, the organisation said the proposal by some southern African countries to kill wild animals was not in the best interest of both humans and wildlife welfare, Xinhua news agency reported.

African Rivers Chief Executive Officer Bobson Sikaala said that upscaling the act of culling wildlife would likely negate the ecological balance, reduce animal population, and disrupt the tourism industry in the long run.

According to Sikaala, the organisation was ready to collaborate with respective governments and other stakeholders to implement innovative and sustainable measures that would save 95 per cent of elephants and other wildlife from being culled and feed about 60 per cent of people affected by the drought.

He revealed that African Rivers has developed a 2024-2025 regional project for immediate implementation aimed at saving elephants and other wildlife as well as supporting the feeding of people struggling with climate-driven hunger in the southern African region.

The project involves promoting climate resilience aid through the distribution of appropriate relief food packages for humans and wildlife, mobilising water browser trucks, and starting supplying water to the animals in the affected areas as well as supporting countries to drill boreholes and construct damns within the affected protected parks, Sikaala noted.

Due to El Nino events, many southern African countries have been battered by a severe drought during the 2023-2024 season.

Data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs suggested that many parts of southern Africa have endured the worst mid-season dry spell in over 100 years, marred by the lowest mid-season rainfall in 40 years.