Zimbabwe to cull and distribute meat of 50 elephants

Zimbabwe’s wildlife authority has announced plans to cull 50 elephants from the Save Valley Conservancy in the country’s southeast, with the meat to be distributed to local communities.

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The decision aims to address the overpopulation of elephants, the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) said on Tuesday.

The “management exercise” will target 50 elephants initially, aiming to address the overpopulation of elephants within Save Valley Conservancy.

Zimbabwe holds the world’s second-largest elephant population, after Botswana. Save Valley reportedly holds three times its carrying capacity of 800 elephants.

“There are 2550 elephants against an ecological carrying capacity of 800 elephants in Save Valley Conservancy,” ZimParks stated.

It added that the decision comes after extended efforts to manage population through translocation of 200 elephants to Hurungwe and Sapi over the past five years.

“Elephant meat from the management exercise will be distributed to local communities while ivory will be state property that will be handed over to the ZimParks for safekeeping,” the authority said in its statement.

The planned cull follows a similar operation in 2024, when 200 elephants were culled due to extreme drought — the country’s first major elephant cull since 1988.

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