Does Namibia's plan to kill animals to save them, and help the human population from ongoing drought, stack up? Google the words "cull," "hunting" and "Namibia" and hundreds of search results will appear going back years. They advertise opportunities to indulge in "luxurious accommodations" and the country's "finest cuisine," while hunting wild animals such as wildebeest, oryx and zebra. As counterintuitive as it may seem, trophy and cull hunting are part of long-standing land management in Namibia , a strategy referred to as "sustainable use" by some conservationists and game hunting companies that is aimed at protecting ecosystems and boosting wildlife numbers.
Profits from hunts go back into conservation and local communities, and game meat is distributed locally or sold, according to the government. Namibia is currently leaning into this strategy as a means of providing meat to locals, while simultaneously easing pressure on water and vegetation amid the country's worst drought in 100 years . With water levels critical, wildlife, livestock and crops are dying and 1.
4 million people — half of the country's population — are going hungry. An so, in a move that has sparked international outrage, the government is in the process of culling 640 animals such as buffalo and zebra in national parks and communal areas as well as 83 elephants in places identified as "hot spots" for human-wildlife conflict. Some of the animals will be sold to trophy hunters via lucrative hunting .