This country is killing 50 elephants and distributing their meat to people due to...., the reason will shock you, the country is...

There is mounting anger among animal activists and lovers after Zimbabwe announced that dozens of elephants in the country will be killed in a bid to control their population size. The southern African country also said that meat from the dead animals will be distributed to local people. The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, also known as ZimParks, has issued permits to Save Valley Conservancy in this regard. "The management quota is meant to address the growing elephant population in the region," the agency said in a statement, adding that 50 elephants will be culled initially.

Severe overpopulation
According to a survey carried out in 2024, there are over 2,500 elephants against an ecological carrying capacity of 800 in Save Valley Conservancy -- one of the largest private game reserves in Africa.
Previously, Save Valley Conservancy has translocated 200 elephants to other areas in Zimbabwe over the last five years to manage population, ZimParks said in its statement.

Similar action last year
The meat extracted from the deceased elephants will be distributed to local residents to eat, as per ZimParks, while ivory will be property of the state and "handed over to the ZimParks for safekeeping."
Zimbabwe has the second-largest population of elephants in the world, after the neighboring nation of Botswana.
Just last year, Zimbabwe had ordered a culling of about 200 elephants, the first such measure in more than three decades. At that time too, authorities had said they would distribute meat from the dead elephants to communities affected by a severe regional drought.