Culling Wildlife: The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Tourism in Namibia announces the culling of more than 700 wild animals, including 83 elephants, 300 zebras, 30 Hippos, 60 buffalos, 50 impalas, 100 blue wilderbeast, and 100 elands or antelopes in its sincere effort to support the drought relief programme by the Namibian Government. The animals are to be sourced from Namib Naukluft Park, Mangetti National Park, Bwabwata National Park, Mudumu National Park and Nkasa Rupara National Park, as per the report. The decision comes amidst a severe drought that has gripped Southern African states like Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia, along with Namibia since October 2023 and is considered the worst drought situation facing the countries in almost ten decades.
What is the reason behind Namibia’s decision of culling Wildlife?
The sub-Saharan country Namibia, which occupies second position in terms of aridity immediately after the Sahara desert, is usually characterised by harsh deserts and semi-desert-like conditions. With the increasing effect of climate change that has disproportionately affected the African continent in particular, the cases of drought are rising and intensifying with each passing year. However, the extreme dry spell that the country experienced this summer has been attributed to the El Nino phenomenon, which has been particularly severe this year. The impact of El Nino, coupled with rising events of climate change, lowered rainfall drastically and depleted the country’s food reserve sharply, compelling the Government to come up with the preposterous suggestion.
The Ministry reasons that the unprecedented crisis has warranted the unprecedented solution and its action is based on the Namibia Livelihood Vulnerability Assessment and Analysis (VAA) Report, which mandates “the Ministry to support the drought relief programme with the provision of meat”. As the UNICEF press release highlights the plights of the drought-hit citizens who are staring at a worst humanitarian crisis owing to the severe food shortage and lack of access to safe water and sanitation, the Government of Namibia seems resolute in its decision of culling wildlife, its chief natural resources to ensure food security and save its starving population.
The Ministry also claims that the move of culling wildlife is going to help the conservation efforts of the Namibian Government as such measure will “assist in managing the current grazing pressure and water availability” that plagues some of the national parks and communal areas where the numbers of animals exceeded the available grazing area and water. In addition to that, it cites the National Conference on Human Wildlife Conflict Management, which took place in 2023 and recommended the reduction of elephant numbers as an effective measure to check prevailing cases of human-wildlife conflict that constitutes an indispensable part of the lives of ordinary citizens.
How has the world reacted to it?
The step taken by the Namibian Government has been slammed by People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) as being “cruel” and “shortsighted” in an open letter addressed to Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, the Prime Minister of Namibia. Jason Baker, the Senior Vice-President of PETA, has raised concern over the move of culling wildlife, as he cites the danger of butchering and consuming wild animals, which is associated with the spread of deadly diseases such as COVID-19, SARS, HIV, Ebola, and other zoonotic diseases.
The letter also mentions how the culling wildlife could aggravate the man-animal conflict instead of mitigating the same as rationed by the Government. As elephants are known to be highly intelligent species with strong familial bonds, killing some of them can have a devastating impact on the herd and enhance the mortality rate among the survivors which can trigger the frustrated animal to attack humans more frequently.
Additionally, Wildlife Conservationists, researchers and scientists from Namibia, as well as other South African nations, have threatened Namibia with legal action if it does not stop the ongoing move of culling wildlife.
The Vantara Foundation, based in Gujarat, India, led by multi-billionaire Anant Ambani, has stepped in to offer whole-hearted support to the animals that are facing the threat of culling in Namibia. In its letter addressed to the High Commissioner of Namibia, it has offered to provide “lifelong care or temporary housing “to the animals as a viable alternative to their current threat and to assure their survival and welfare.
Why has the decision been so controversial?
While the press release of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Tourism on 26th August claims that this exercise is necessary and “is in line with our constitutional mandate where our natural resources are used for the benefit of Namibian citizens”, it has raised eyebrows across the world. Environmentalists and wildlife experts have raised concern over the rationale behind such action, as it can lead to a detrimental impact on our ecosystem. Elephants, being a keystone species, have a significant role to play in ensuring the survival of the ecosystem. Therefore, resorting to mindless culling of the species can have a long-term negative impact on the sustenance of the ecosystem.
Besides, the decision has faced flak for being unscientific and failing on moral grounds as it fails to address the root cause of the problem. Supplying wildlife meat, besides having a potential danger of spreading zoonotic disease, cannot be a sustainable solution as food shortage is a persistent problem that demands strategic climate and agricultural solutions. Again, with Climate change reaching significant heights, the country must adopt a long-term greener and more sustainable solution instead of imperilling the already stressed Wildlife which is facing the devastating consequences of man-made climate disasters.
Moreover, the ethicality of culling wildlife is being mulled as such a step makes the animals bear the brunt of climate change unequally. While anthropogenic civilisation has propelled the earth towards destruction and pushed it to the tipping point, animals are on the receiving end of such changes to which they did not contribute in the slightest manner. The decision of culling wildlife, if executed, has the threatening potential to set a wrong precedent for the future generations to come as the climate crisis is sure to intensify in the coming days.
Is Namibia the first nation in history to contemplate such a drastic measure?
Southern African nations like Namibia, South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana, and Zimbabwe are facing the problem of an increased number of elephant populations owing to success in their conservation efforts and natural factors that ensure the elephant population to thrive if left undisturbed. While the struggle for land and food emerges as an issue, a heightened incident of man-animal conflict plagues the citizens’ lives.
Botswana, which houses the world’s largest elephant population, had earlier in 2019 come up with a report suggesting culling of elephants to supply pet food to mitigate the man-animal conflict. Moreover, the report findings also recommended lifting the hunting ban that was put in place in 2014 and even proposed the introduction of limited but regular culling to prevent the excess in the elephant population.
Presently, countries like Botswana and South Africa permit trophy hunting to keep the population under check, as the ban on hunting was lifted in Botswana in 2019. Earlier, the culling of elephants as a part of population stabilising efforts was undertaken by the Kruger’s National Park in South Africa from 1967 to 1994. However, culling Wildlife to ensure the food security of a drought-stricken country is an innovative measure on the part of the Namibian Government that must not be emulated anywhere in the world./
FAQ
Why is Namibia in the News?
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Tourism in Namibia announces the culling of more than 700 wild animals, including elephants, zebras, hippos, buffalos, impalas, blue wilderbeast, and elands in its sincere effort to aid the drought relief programme.
What is the reason behind Namibia’s decision to cull Wildlife?
The impact of El Nino, coupled with rising events of climate change, lowered rainfall drastically and caused severe drought in the country. The drought that has gripped the nation since October 2023 has depleted the country’s food reserve sharply, compelling the Government of Namibia to come up with the preposterous suggestion.
How has the world reacted to it?
The step taken by the Namibian Government has been slammed by People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) as being “cruel” and “shortsighted”. Additionally, Wildlife Conservationists, researchers and scientists from Namibia, as well as other South African nations, have threatened Namibia with legal action if it does not stop the ongoing culling of the animals.
Why has the decision been so controversial?
Environmentalists and wildlife experts have raised concern over the rationale behind such action, as it can lead to a detrimental impact on our ecosystem. Elephants, being a keystone species, have a significant role to play in ensuring the survival of the ecosystem. The decision has faced flak for being unscientific and failing on moral grounds as it fails to address the root cause of the problem.
Is Namibia the first nation in history to contemplate such a drastic measure?
Botswana, which houses the world’s largest elephant population, had earlier in 2019 come up with a report suggesting culling of elephants to supply pet food to mitigate the man-animal conflict. Earlier, the culling of elephants as a part of population stabilising efforts was undertaken by the Kruger’s National Park in South Africa from 1967 to 1994.
