Zimbabwe is currently facing an El-Nino-fueled drought that is decimating cattle and destroying crops in southern Africa.
In an effort to save much of its precious wildlife from joining the thousands of cattle that has already been lost, Zimbabwe put out an advertisement in the sate-run newspaper The Herald urging anyone who could afford it to purchase as many of the at risk animals as they could.
Image: nehandaradio.com
With a large portion of households facing food shortages and a declared state of disaster, the country doesn’t have many options.
This measure of selling off wildlife such as elephants would hopefully prevent losses similar to those that Zimbabwe has experienced in the past.
“Zimbabwe is facing one of its worst droughts ever, even worse than 1992 when thousands of wildlife were decimated,” says Jerry Gotora, a conservationist and former chairman of the parks department.
The selling of any animals would help to save the lives of numerous species throughout Zimbabwe.
Image: Wikipedia
“All our national parks are in the driest regions and the biggest question as we experience this drought is ‘who is going to feed the wildlife and who is going to give them water?”
The selling of these animals from their natural habitat will undoubtedly upset many conservationists and animal rights activists, but the poorly funded Zimbabwe Parks Authority is short on time and options.
