The sun blazes down from a cloudless late-August sky, and temperatures in the southwestern African country of Namibia reach 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit). For months, it has hardly rained at all. Southern Africa is battling an unprecedented drought this winter.
Experts attribute the extreme dry spell to the El Nino weather phenomenon, which has been particularly severe this year. Several months ago, Namibia, as well as Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi, declared a state of emergency due to the persistent drought.
Now, the Namibian government has controversially decided to help the country's rural population by allowing more than 700 wild animals to be hunted — animals that should be under special protection in the country's national parks. The animals include elephants, antelopes, buffaloes, zebras and wildebeests, most of which will now be shot by professional hunters. Namibia's Ministry of the Environment says around half of Namibia's population, some 1.4 million people, are acutely threatened by food and water shortages.
A drastic measure
Namibia's government is taking drastic measures to mitigate the consequences of the drought. Scores of wild animals are at risk of dying of thirst due to acute water shortages in many regions of Namibia, according to a Ministry of the Environment spokesperson. By shooting some of the animals, the spokesperson said, the animals are spared dying from thirst, which also increases the survival chances of the other animals.
Water and food scarcity has caused increasing conflict between humans and animals. Animals are increasingly encroaching on human settlements and endangering the local population as they search for water.
There are also plans to make the meat of the killed animals available to Namibia's starving rural population. Namibia's authorities have already started doing this. Over 150 animals have already been shot, and some 57 tons of meat are said to have been distributed to villages near the affected conservation areas.
Environmentalists sound the alarm
The cull of wild animals has, however, caused outrage among animal welfare organizations. Not-for-profit organization Elephant-Human Relations Aid (EHRA), which campaigns for peaceful coexistence between elephants and humans, said the move constitutes the "largest mass-cull of wildlife in Namibian history."
The group has launched a petition calling on the government to stop the project and develop alternative solutions. It says the ministry has not sufficiently assessed the impact shooting wild animals will have on Namibia's economy and tourist sector.
EHRA also accuses the government of allowing trophy hunters to shoot some of the animals for a fee — a fact now confirmed by the Namibian Ministry of Environment. However, it emphasizes that it will use the money raised — equivalent to around €500,000 ($552,000) — to improve the water supply in Namibian national parks.
A ploy to win over voters?
EHRA says it is also wrong to claim that wild animals such as elephants and giraffes compete for water with cattle and goats held by Namibians living nearby. Cattle and goats are not allowed to be kept within national parks, so wild and farm animals do not compete for resources.
That is why the organization suspects the government's plan is driven by other motives. Its petition says, "This is an election year in Namibia, and the ruling SWAPO party is facing increasing rejection from voters, with their political support mostly coming from the rural communal areas that is to receive this culling meat." EHRA suspects the ruling party is primarily interested in winning the favor of its supporters ahead of the elections on November 29. It has called on the government to seek another approach that benefits Namibia's wild animals.
On Wednesday, the Namibian Ministry of Environment published a new statement defending the move, saying it was necessary and "in line with our constitutional mandate to use our natural resources for the benefit of Namibian citizens." It also said, "We are pleased to be able to help the country in these very difficult times when it is absolutely necessary."
The ministry also said one person had already been killed by elephants searching for water. As a precaution, people in the areas in question should not "walk in the wilderness at night."