BY STAFF REPORTER
In a recent interview with VicFallsLive reporter Nokuthaba Dlamini, Tinashe Farawo of the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks) addressed the controversy surrounding elephant culling in Zimbabwe.
Farawo responded to criticism from conservationists on social media, who have condemned Zimparks for their handling of problem elephants in communities.
The debate sparked after an incident in Victoria Falls two months ago, where an elephant was killed in the suburbs, and others were killed in Hwange town.
Farawo defended Zimparks’ actions, stating that communities are under distress due to elephants causing unwarranted curfews, disrupting daily life, and even resulting in fatalities.
He criticized conservationists for slamming the idea of shooting to kill problem elephants, accusing them of being “greedy lots” who are more interested in fundraising than providing solutions.
Below are excerpts from the interview, where Farawo shares his perspective on the matter:
We don’t deal with activists, this is activism they are not conservationists, they are just activists
What we do, let me give you an example we have a hunting quota of 500 elephants every year, and this hunting quota has been in place since 1991, we have never exhausted that quota
We have a management quota that is in place there are many things that we can do. Do they know the definition of culling for example?
When we react to distress calls when communities tell us that there are elephants and lions there and we respond and when we respond we do an assessment and when human life is under threat we are left with no option, but to eliminate
In respect of the two incidences one which happened here in Victoria Falls and the other incident which happened in Hwange, you can actually see that the elephants were in the streets in communities and when we go there, we do an assessment.
Communities in Hwange last month were put on an unwanted curfew by the elephants. For two weeks, no one was going to school, no one was leaving his or her homestead
We receive those distress calls and we go there to restore order and the options that we have is either we scare the animals away, but if human life is under threat, we are left with no option.
We are no apologetic, that’s our job, our laws provide for that.
But because they don’t that and they don’t know the definition of culling and because they are activists and if they were conservationists they would understand what l am saying.
They are just raising their own money in the name our elephants, for their benefits.
They are just greedy and they have never given us options or alternatives to say what is it can we can do with the crisis.
We have a lot of biodiversity projects around our parks, do they say anything about it.
Communities lose their lives l, we have never heard them, even a condolence message.