Drought map showing lack of rainfall in southern Africa

By: BlackmansStreet today

Southern African countries Zimbabwe and Namibia have announced plans to slaughter hundreds of wild elephants and other animals to feed citizens who are starving because of the severe drought that began in 2024.
 
Zimbabwe said Monday it would allow the killing of 200 elephants so that their meat can be distributed among needy communities. In Namibia the killing of more than 700 wild animals — including 83 elephants — is underway as part of a plan announced three weeks ago, reported the Associated Press.

Tinashe Farawo, a spokesman for the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, said permits would be issued in needy communities to hunt elephants and that the agency also would kill some of the overall allotment of 200 animals.

“We will start culling as soon as we have finished issuing out permits,” Farawo said.

The elephants will be taken from an area where the population has become unsustainable, Farawo said. The hunting will take place in areas such as Hwange National Park in the country’s arid western region, where there has been increasing competition between humans and wildlife for food and water as rising temperatures make the resources more scarce.

Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Zambia are among the countries in Southern Africa most affected by malnutrition caused by the drought.

In early June, the United Nations World Food Programme highlighted the dire effects of the drought, particularly on communities already vulnerable to food shortages.

“Rural communities we have met on the ground tell us they have never seen anything like this. They are extremely worried about their future,” said Reena Ghelani, the UN climate crisis coordinator for the El Nino response.

Southern Africa saw its driest February in 100 years, the UN reported. The area received only 20 percent of the usual rainfall.