Zimbabwean authorities have approved the slaughter of about 200 elephants to feed citizens amid lingering food insecurity caused by severe drought.

On Monday, Tinashe Farawo, a spokesperson for the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority, confirmed the planned culling of 200 elephants to feed citizens amid acute drought.

“We are targeting to cull 200 elephants,” Mr Farawo told CNN, lamenting rising cases of elephant-human conflict amid the drought in the East African country.

He added, “The animals are causing a lot of havoc in communities, killing people. Last week, we lost a woman in the northern part of the country who was killed by an elephant. The previous week, the same thing happened. So it (the culling) is also a way of controlling.”

This year, over 30 persons have been killed in different wildlife-human conflicts in Zimbabwe, according to local media.

United Nations estimated over seven million to be at risk of acute hunger in Zimbabwe, declaring the East African country “as one of the hunger hotspots.”

“A new report from the UN aid coordination office (OCHA) reveals that food insecurity levels in Zimbabwe are rapidly deteriorating after it was hit with historic droughts due to the El Niño weather pattern,” the UN said in a statement in early August.

Zimbabwe’s planned culling of elephants comes weeks after the Namibian government adopted the same measure to tackle potential food insecurity and potential wildlife-human conflict as drought bites harder.

A statement by the Namibian Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism announced the approval of game meat to support the drought relief programme by the government.

It added, “The Ministry will contribute 723 animals comprising 30 hippos, 60 buffalos, 50 impalas, 100 blue wildebeests, 300 zebras, 83 elephants and 100 elands.”