Windhoek: A Namibian government cull of more than 700 wildlife to cope with its worst drought in decades is under way, with nearly 160 animals already killed, the environment ministry said Tuesday.
The government announced the cull 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.
Most of the animals are in the country's protected national parks.
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.
"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.
"To date 157 animals comprising of different species were hunted... delivering 56,875 kilogrammes of meat," a ministry statement 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.
