Zimbabwe’s wildlife authority announced on Tuesday that it plans to cull dozens of elephants and share the meat for consumption to manage the growing population of the animals.
The southern African nation has the second-largest elephant population in the world after Botswana.
According to a Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority (Zimparks) statement, the culling operation at a large private game reserve in the southeast will initially focus on 50 elephants. The statement did not specify how many elephants would be killed or the timeline for this action.
Zimparks stated that an aerial survey conducted in 2024 indicated that the Save Valley Conservancy held 2,550 elephants, significantly exceeding its carrying capacity of 800.
Over the last five years, at least 200 elephants have been moved to other parks.
Zimbabwe is unable to sell its stockpile of ivory due to a worldwide ban on ivory trade.
On Tuesday, the announcement coincided with the arrest of four individuals in Harare who were found with more than 230 kilograms (500 pounds) of ivory that they allegedly wanted to sell.
In 2024, Zimbabwe culled 200 elephants while struggling with an extraordinary drought that caused food shortages. This was the first significant culling since 1988.
The decision to hunt elephants for food has faced strong backlash, especially considering that the animals are a tourist attraction.
