Namibia's drought cull of more than 700 wildlife under way

A Namibian government cull of more than 700 wildlife to cope with its worst drought in decades is under way, with 160 animals already killed, the environment ministry said Tuesday.

The cull was announced last week to relieve pressure on grazing and water supplies, and to provide meat for programmes to support the thousands of people going hungry because of the drought.

Carried out by professional hunters, it targets 30 hippos, 60 buffalos, 50 impalas, 83 elephants, 100 blue wildebeest, 100 elands and 300 zebras.

At least 157 of the 723 animals designated for culling have been killed so far, environment ministry spokesman Romeo Muyunda told AFP. The time it would take to complete the cull depended on various factors, he said.

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"Our goal is to carry out this operation sustainably while minimising trauma as much as possible. We must separate those animals to be hunted from those that are not," Muyunda said.

In compliance with the international ban on the sale of ivory, the tusks from the culled elephants would be stored in government warehouses.

"Over 56 kilogrammes of meat have already been provided to the Office of the Prime Minister," Muyunda said.

Namibia declared a state of emergency in May because of the drought, which is gripping a swathe of countries across southern Africa.

The World Food Programme said in August that about 1.4 million Namibians, nearly half the population, are experiencing acute food insecurity, with cereal production plummeting by 53 percent and dam water levels dropping by 70 percent compared with last year.

The wildlife cull has been criticised by animal rights group PETA as short-sighted, cruel and ineffective compared to the scale of the drought.

"We urge Namibia to reconsider these actions," PETA senior vice president Jason Baker said in a letter to Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila posted on the group's website.

"The plan is not only cruel but also dangerously short-sighted and will have no long-term impact on these complex problems."

The cull could lead to imbalances in ecosystems, Baker said.

"The killing of even a few elephants could devastate entire herds, leading to increased mortality among survivors and more frequent and dangerous human-animal conflicts," he said in the letter.