The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) has issued permits to Savé Valley Conservancy to cull elephants as part of a population management exercise.
Initially, 50 elephants will be culled and the meat distributed to local communities. The ivory will become state property and be handed over to ZimParks for safekeeping.
“According to the 2024 aerial survey, there are 2 550 elephants against an ecological carrying capacity of 800 elephants in Savé Valley Conservancy,” said ZimParks in a statement.
Savé Valley Conservancy said options such as expanded corridors, translocation, fertility control or limited trophy hunting “have merit but remain logistically, financially or biologically inadequate at the necessary scale and speed”.
Over the past five years, the conservancy has translocated 200 elephants to Hurungwe and Sapi to manage the elephant population and protect the wildlife habitat.
ZimParks added: “We remain committed to responsible, sustainable management of wildlife resources for the benefit of present and future generations.”
