Govt to start culling game for drought relief

The minister of environment and tourism, Pohamba Shifeta, has announced that animals in national parks will be culled and the meat distributed to drought-stricken communities.The current drought has been described as one of the worst in Namibia’s history. It affects more than 1.5 million people who rely on subsistence farming, while more than 500 000 people are food insecure. The game cull in national parks forms part of the government’s drought-relief initiative.Shifeta said about 300 animals would be culled in some of the smaller parks. Consultations will be held with the Office of the Prime Minister to determine the final number.“We cannot allow our people to go hungry while our animals are also dying due to the drought conditions,” said Shifeta. “It is part of our mandate to harvest sustainably and to control the population of animals.”The animals to be culled will include springbok and gemsbok and will all be males. Culling will be done in the Naute National Park in the //Karas Region, the Hardap National Park in the Hardap Region, and the Daan Viljoen National Park in the Khomas Region, where grazing and water are scarce. Shifeta said wildlife in Etosha National Park and Namib-Naukluft Park are still doing well and are expected to survive until the next rainy season. The Kavango and Zambezi regions are not a cause for concern. In the Bwabwata National Park the grazing and water resources are still sufficient. The minister said conservancies in the Kunene Region are facing drought, but the situation there will be monitored closely. In 2013 about 500 wild animals in four national parks were slaughtered and distributed to communities that were severely affected by the drought.At the time the government directed the culling of 100 springbok in the Naute National Park, 150 springbok in the Hardap National Park and 150 zebra, gemsbok and eland in the Etosha National Park.It also ordered the killing of 150 springbok, gemsbok and eland in the Karoo and Hobatere game reserves in the Kunene Region.The Meatco Oshakati abattoir and the Brukkaros, Hardap and Witvlei abattoirs processed the carcasses and the process was completed by the middle of September 2013. The Ohangwena Region received 1 667 boxes of meat, Kunene received 546 boxes and Omaheke was supplied with 633 boxes of meat of 10 kg each.ELLANIE SMIT

Govt to start culling game for drought relief

Comments

Namibian Sun 2025-07-17

Please login to leave a comment

Govt to start culling game for drought relief

Comments

Namibian Sun 2025-07-17

Please login to leave a comment

Login