Ten Elephants have been culled in farmland in northern Namibia within the last month, according to the Namibian Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism. The decision to kill the Animals was made after it was determined that they presented a threat to both the crops and the lives of local people, and that it was not possible to relocate them or take other actions. The meat from the Elephants was donated to the affected communities. Four Elephants were shot by ministry officials in the Omusati Region, four in the Otjozondjupa Region and two in the Kavango East Region.
An Elephant in northern Namibia. Africa Sustainable Conservation.
Elephants are considered to be threatened across Africa, due to a combination of hunting, principally for the value of their tusks, and habitat loss, with the population across the continent thought to have dropped from 3-5 million in 1900 to about 415 000 today, and about 50% of Elephant-suitable land having disappeared since 1970. However, conservation efforts in Namibia have managed to reverse this trend, with an Elephant population that has risen from 7500 in 1995 to 24 000 in 2019. At the same time the Human population of Namibia has risen from 1 628 000 in 1995 to 2 448 000 in 2018, increasing the potential for Human/Elephant conflict.
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