More than 700 wild animals slaughtered in Namibia to feed people

Namibia, Sep 4.- The country began to slaughter more than 700 wild animals - hippopotamuses, elephants, buffaloes, zebras - to feed people who are hungry as a result of the worst drought in decades, the Ministry of Environment.

So far more than 150 animals have been sacrificed under this measure, announced last week.

The goal is not only to provide meat to thousands of people, but also to relieve pressure on water resources depleted by the drought.

The program envisages culling 30 hippos, 83 elephants, 60 buffaloes, 100 blue wildebeests, 300 zebras, 100 elands and 50 impalas (two types of antelope).

At least 157 of these 723 animals have already been slaughtered, ministry spokesman Romeo Muyunda told AFP. How long it will take to complete the process depends on several factors, he added.

"Our goal is to carry out this operation in a sustainable way, minimizing trauma as much as possible. We have to separate the animals that need to be hunted from those that don't," he explained.

The slaughter of the first 157 animals provided "56,875 kg of meat," the ministry said in a press release.

Namibia declared a state of emergency in May due to the drought affecting several southern African countries.

The UN World Food Program (WFP) reported in August that around 1.4 million Namibians, almost half the population, were severely food insecure.

Due to the drought, cereal production plummeted by 53% and water levels in dams by 70% compared to the previous year. (Text and Photo: Cubasí)