Zimbabwe to kill elephants, distribute meat to citizens as numbers soar

File photo of elephants crossing a road early morning, outside the Hwange National Park, Hwange, Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe will cull dozens of elephants and distribute the meat for consumption to ease the ballooning population of the animals, its wildlife authority said Tuesday.

The southern Africa country is home to the second-biggest elephant population in the world after Botswana.

The cull at a vast private game reserve in the southeast would initially target 50 elephants, the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority (ZimParks) said in a statement.

It did not say how many of the animals would be killed in total or over what period.

An aerial survey in 2024 showed the reserve, the Save Valley Conservancy, had 2,550 elephants, more than triple its carrying capacity of 800, ZimParks said.

At least 200 have been translocated to other parks 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," it said.

Zimbabwe is unable to sell its stockpile of tusks due to a global ban on ivory trading.

Tuesday's announcement came a day after four people were arrested in the capital Harare with more than 230 kilogrammes (500 pounds) of ivory for which they were allegedly seeking a buyer.

In 2024, Zimbabwe culled 200 elephants as it faced an unprecedented drought that led to food shortages. It was the first major cull since 1988.

The move to hunt the elephants for food has drawn sharp criticism, particularly as the animals are a major tourism draw.