Residents injured or bereaved in wildlife attacks could qualify for financial relief under new provisions in the Parks and Wildlife Amendment Act, Hwange West legislator Vusumuzi Moyo has said.
In a public statement issued on Tuesday, Moyo said the Human-Wildlife Conflict Relief Fund had been established to provide monetary assistance to people affected by encounters with wild animals resulting in death, permanent disability or other physical injuries.
The fund is intended to support communities that live alongside wildlife and have long borne the cost of human-wildlife conflict.
According to Moyo, victims or their families must submit claims within 12 months of an incident. Claims must be supported by a completed claim form, an affidavit from the victim, an affidavit from a Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) officer who investigated the incident, a police report and a medical report.
For fatal attacks, applicants must also provide a post-mortem report and a certified copy of the death certificate.
Moyo said compensation would not be available where a person was injured or killed while illegally harvesting wildlife or where the incident resulted from negligent interference with wild animals.
He also said the amended law gives wildlife authorities clearer powers to declare animals that have killed or threatened people as problem animals, allowing them to be destroyed where necessary to protect communities.
The legislator said the Act also provides relief for livestock owners whose animals are killed or injured through illegal trapping, with courts empowered to order convicted poachers to compensate owners at market value.
According to Moyo, the Human-Wildlife Conflict Relief Fund will be financed through a 0.5 percent levy on tourism revenue, linking benefits from the wildlife economy to communities living alongside protected areas.
The announcement comes as communities across Hwange District continue to grapple with frequent encounters involving elephants, lions, buffaloes and crocodiles. Villages bordering protected areas have repeatedly appealed for faster responses to problem animals, improved fencing, compensation for losses and stronger measures to protect lives and livelihoods.
Earlier this year, VicFallsLive reported on the case of Dandisiwe Ndlovu, who remains admitted to hospital after surviving an attack by two lions. Ndlovu spent the night perched in a tree after the attack before rescuers reached him, highlighting the dangers faced by people living near wildlife areas.
VicFallsLive has also documented numerous cases in which residents have been injured or killed by wild animals, while others have lost livestock and crops, underscoring the growing burden of human-wildlife conflict on rural communities in Matabeleland North.
The publication is currently producing a documentary series examining the impact of human-wildlife conflict on affected communities, documenting the experiences of victims and exploring solutions that residents believe could reduce conflict while improving coexistence between people and wildlife.
Moyo encouraged residents to familiarise themselves with the claims process and said his constituency office would assist affected families in preparing applications.