It took an extra check on the date of the news to ensure that it pertains to 2024 and not some obscure earlier decades. Times when the wild animals of Africa, not just those in Namibia, had no protection and were at the mercy of every poacher, literally being wiped out.
So how does one react to the official announcement from the Namibian government that it intends to kill 723 wild animals from its wildlife (from elephants and zebras to impala deer) to provide meat for its residents and relieve them from the ongoing drought?
Namibia, a large but sparsely populated country in Southwestern Africa (less than 3 million inhabitants), is experiencing its worst drought in a century. Of course, most of the country is covered by deserts (Namib and Kalahari), yet even its supposed fertile areas have been severely affected by the lack of water, crops have failed, and over half of its population is facing the specter of hunger.
The announcement notably states that this extreme measure is “in accordance with our constitutional mandate where our natural resources are used for the benefit of the citizens of Namibia.” A large part of the southern tip of Africa is affected by drought, impacting over 30 million people across the region.
El Niño Hits Namibia
Droughts are common in Southern Africa, and the region has experienced several over the past decade, including from 2018 to 2021. This is largely due to the now well-known El Niño, a natural climate phenomenon often associated with warmer, drier weather in parts of the world. It returned last year and led to record droughts in some areas, receiving less than half of the annual rainfall.
In addition to the 83 elephants, the country also plans to slaughter 300 zebras, 30 hippopotamuses, 50 deer, 60 buffalo, and 100 elands (a type of antelope).
The animals are not killed only for the meat. Namibia is also trying to minimize dangerous encounters with humans, which, as noted in the announcement from the Ministry of Environment, are expected to increase during the drought as both animals and humans seek water and plants.
Elephants, of course, are herbivorous animals, but they can also become particularly deadly. They are responsible for the deaths of at least 50 people just in 2023 in neighboring Zimbabwe.
The situation is very concerning. Last week, a United Nations representative stated that 84% of Namibia’s food resources have already been depleted. The U.S. aid agency announced additional humanitarian aid of $4.9 million last month but also emphasizes that September is likely to peak during the drought period when food is scarce.
So far, at least 157 animals have been killed, and the ministry has announced that they have yielded about 63 tons of meat, which is expected to relieve around 1.4 million people. The hunting will focus on areas where the animals consume the most water and grazing resources. Elephants can stand over 4 meters tall and weigh over 5.5 tons, consuming a particularly large amount of these resources. On average, they can eat about 300 kilograms of vegetation per day.
In any case, the environment for wildlife is strained. The extreme drought killed at least 160 elephants in Zimbabwe’s largest national park in January, and 300 elephants in Botswana just in 2023. The WWF‘s program for Namibia is working to raise funds to supply water for elephants and other species in various national parks.
The major issue is the conservation of the species in Namibia and in four other Southern African countries. The population of savanna elephants has decreased by more than half over the last three generations. But in this sanctuary in recent years, the population of elephants has generally remained stable at over 227,000 elephants, according to a 2022 survey.