The Sunday News
Vincent Gono, Features Editor
ZIMBABWE will not give in to calls by some animal conservationists to use contraceptives to control the ballooning national elephant population so far at 84 000 against a carrying capacity of 45 000 but will continue to lobby CITES for the lifting of the ban in commercial trading of elephant ivory, an official has said.
In an interview with Sunday News, Zimparks director-general Mr Fulton Mangwanya said the country was not going to take the route of elephant birth control in the foreseeable future as had been suggested by some animal conservationists.
He said instead, Zimbabwe was going to push the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to lift the ban in commercial trade in elephant ivory so that the elephants could fund for their sustainability and general upkeep.
“The elephant must pay for its upkeep is the motto we are currently running with and it is this motto that we want to sell to the world. We are not going to take the contraceptives route, not in the foreseeable future. Some conservationists have suggested that we go for the birth control method where the porcine zona pellucida (PZP) is used but despite it being expensive we are not going to do that,” said Mr Mangwanya.
The vaccine works by stimulating a female elephant’s immune system to produce anti-bodies which prevent the sperm from fertilising the egg during ovulation.
The Zimparks director-general said Zimbabwe was sitting on 133 tonnes of ivory which they have not been given the green light to sell despite concerted engagement efforts to dispose of the stockpile.
He said if the country was allowed to sell the stockpile of ivory, the proceeds would be a major sanctions buster in communities adjacent to wildlife conservation areas that have been lagging behind in infrastructure development.
“We have 133 tonnes of elephant ivory. The stockpile keeps on increasing from natural mortality, problem animal control as well as those recovered from poaching. We last did culling in 1987 and since then the numbers have been swelling. However, if we can be allowed to sell our stockpile the proceeds will go a long way in developing infrastructure such as schools, clinics and other social amenities that are not available in communities close to wildlife areas,” said Mr Mangwanya.
He said in order to lessen incidents of human wildlife conflicts and depopulating some areas, Zimparks last year moved 100 elephants from Save to Zambezi.
Mr Mangwanya said despite having one of the largest elephant herd in Africa, the country still maintained the best animal management system, adding that the problem of poaching had dwindled significantly owing to convictions and alertness on the part of Zimparks.
“We are working together with the communities to try and combat the menace of poaching and cynadisation of our elephants. Running battles have been the order of the day in almost all animal areas in the country as we try to nip the illegality from the bud,” he said.
He added that they were working closely with the communities that have been instrumental in providing them with information on poaching and other threats to the animals of the wild.
“We have been working very well with the communities. They are the ones who have played a very significant role in providing us with information on poaching activities and we have been fighting the vice and I am happy to say the cases have gradually decreased,” said the Zimparks director-general.
He added it was sad that CITES had become a disabler of development as there was little recognition of the damage that a ballooning population of elephants was causing to the environment and the people in the unending circle of human-wildlife conflict as the fight for space ensued.
