The Sunday News
Ayanda Dlamini, Sunday News Reporter
MORE than 500 wild animals have been killed in the past five years as they posed a danger to human life and resulted in livestock or crop loses, it has been learnt.
Every year, the problem of human-wildlife conflict has been escalating especially in communities close to national parks
Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndlovu told Parliament that animals were killed in line with Human Wildlife Conflict Management which resulted in the communities benefiting in health and safety.
Minister Ndlovu was presenting on the benefits accrued by communities from national parks over the last 10 years.
“Several dangerous species were eliminated to protect human life and reduce livestock and crop losses,” he said.
“For example, a total of 138 elephants and 125 crocodiles were destroyed after they strayed into and caused damages in communal lands between 2016 and 2020.”
Minister Ndlovu said in addition to the elephants and crocodiles, a total of 99 hippos, 144 buffalos and 40 lions were eliminated in the last five years.
In addition to the dangerous wild animals, Minister Ndlovu revealed that a total of 29 reports of problematic quelea birds were received in 2018 and 35 in 2019 compared to 60 in 2020.
“Over 80 percent of the problem birds reported were killed per year to protect small grain crops in all rural provinces from 2018 to 2020,” said the Minister.
Last month a stray lion was killed as a last resort in Mbale area, Hwange after efforts to capture it were fruitless.
In February, in a similar case, a lion that was part of a stray pride which attacked cattle and goats at farms in Doma, Mhangura constituency, Mashonaland west, was also shot and killed to protect farming communities.
