Bits and Bites from Around the World > 700+ wild animals to be culled for food in starving Namibia

 

700 wild animals, including elephants and hippos, to be killed for meat in Namibia

By Sarah Do Couto  Global News

Posted August 29, 2024 10:35 am

 3 min read

In an effort to prevent people from starving amid a severe drought in Namibia, the government will cull more than 700 wild animals for their meat.

The southwestern African country is currently facing the worst drought in 100 years. In an August report from the United Nations, officials said the humanitarian crisis in Namibia is likely to leave nearly half of the population — about 1.4 million people — experiencing high levels of food insecurity between July and September.

Namibia’s environmental ministry on Monday said it would use game meat to support the country’s drought relief program by culling 723 wild animals, including 83 elephants, 30 hippos, 30 zebras, 60 buffaloes, 50 impalas, 100 blue wildebeest and 100 elands.

The animals are being sourced by professional hunters from national parks and communal areas in line with sustainable game numbers, the ministry said.

Culling the animals will also allow for the preservation of grazing and water areas for wildlife amid the country’s drought, officials said. As is, wild animals are forced to compete for these already limited resources.

In nearby Zimbabwe last year, at least 100 elephants died in the country’s largest national park as a result of drought in the country, The Associated Press reported.

As well as combating drought and human hunger, officials said the hunting of elephants specifically is needed to combat increasing instances of conflict between elephants and people. These conflicts can be fatal for humans, who may encounter wild elephants acting aggressively as they search for food and water.

“With the severe drought situation in the country, conflicts are expected to increase if no interventions are made,” the Namibian Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism statement read.

The elephants will be culled in small numbers from different regions across Namibia.

As of Monday, 157 animals have already been hunted, and 56,875 kilograms of meat has been secured for distribution.

The government said the wild game meat is “absolutely needed” during this “very difficult time” in Namibia.

“This exercise is necessary and is in line with our constitutional mandate where our natural resources are used for the benefit of Namibian citizens,” the statement reads. “This is also a prime example that conservation of game is really beneficial.”

Officials said the wild game provisions will improve people’s nutrition, contribute to poverty reduction and benefit the economy through employment opportunities, which will generate income. As of this month, 84 per cent of Namibia’s food reserves have already been exhausted. A national state of emergency was declared in the country on May 22.

United Nations officials said the drought in Namibia, brought on by El Niño, is contributing to “severe acute malnutrition” among children under five years old. Deaths have already been reported.

Women and girls in the country must now walk farther to collect food and water, which the United Nations said also increases their risk of facing gender-based violence. The more than 700 animals killed for game meat will be sourced specifically from Namib Naukluft Park, Mangetti National Park, Bwabwata National Park, Mudumu National Park and Nkasa Rupara National Park.

The government still condemns the illegal poaching of wild game.

Bits and Bites from around the World > Mad sheep kills aged owners in N.Z.; NC fools pull bear cubs out of tree for selfies

 

Aggressive sheep kills New Zealand couple,

leaving community shocked

By Michelle Butterfield  Global News

Posted April 19, 2024 1:49 pm

 1 min read

New Zealand police confirmed a ram, similar to the one pictured, was shot after officers were called to a property where two older people were found dead. Getty Images

An aggressive sheep was shot and killed after it was determined to be responsible for the deaths of an older New Zealand couple.

A man went looking for his mother and father Thursday after not hearing from them for a few days. The couple, both in their 80s, lived at a rural rented property in Waitākere, West Auckland.

When he entered the property’s paddock, he found both of his parents, Alfred Helge Hansen, 82, and Gaye Carole Hansen, 81, dead.

According to the New Zealand Herald, authorities believe the man was killed when he went out to feed the ram. His wife suffered the same fate when she went out to check on her husband.

A statement from police said they discovered the bodies around 7:30 a.m. local time. They found the ram in the paddock when they arrived.

They said another person at the scene had also “suffered a minor injury after being attacked by this ram,” and that when police arrived at the scene, “they too were confronted and approached by the ram.”

Police said they shot and killed the aggressive animal at the scene.

Dean Burrell, the nephew of one of the dead and family spokesperson, told news outlet Stuff that the couple had “both lost their lives in a tragic accident.”

“They’re good people. They’re over 80. They don’t deserve this,” he said.

“Everyone is in shock as to what’s happened. They are very upset.”

Police are investigating the deaths on behalf of the coroner “to establish the full set of circumstances around what occurred in the paddock,” and a postmortem examination will be carried out on Friday.

People caught on video trying to pull

bear cubs from tree to take selfies

By Michelle Butterfield  Global News

Posted April 19, 2024 10:55 am

 3 min read

Several people were filmed pulling a black bear cub out of a tree and trying to grab another in Asheville, 

N.C., on Tuesday.

File this under: “A good way to get yourself killed.”

An investigation is underway after a group of people (with an apparent death wish) were filmed pulling black bear cubs out of a tree in North Carolina in an effort to take a round of selfies with the baby animals.

The unsettling incident, which went down in Ashville, N.C., Tuesday afternoon, was captured by onlooker Rachel Staudt, who turned her camera to a group of six people outside an apartment complex.

The group is seen approaching a wooded area behind a fence near the building. At first, the bear cubs are obscured by the tree’s leaves, but as the group gets closer some people can be seen tugging two bear cubs from their perches, yanking them from branches.

One woman is seen holding onto a cub like a small child, while another person snaps photos.

A woman holds one of the bear cubs. Rachel Staudt via Storyful

“She’s holding it up. She’s holding a bear,” an eyewitness can be heard saying. “The other guy’s grabbing the other one.”

The woman then drops the cub and chases it as it tries to run away.

The woman chases the scared bear after dropping it. Rachel Staudt via Storyful

Authorities were notified after the incident was reported to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, local outlet WLOS reported. A special projects biologist for the commission found only one cub at the scene, which she said is currently at a rehab facility and will be released back into the wild, the outlet reported.

“We do think that the bear probably had a pretty traumatic experience,” biologist Ashley Hobbs told the outlet.

“We did follow up with the people who pulled the bear out of the tree,” she continued. “We did confront them on site that day and let them know how irresponsible and potentially deadly it could be for that cub to be separated from its mom, especially ripped out of a tree like that.”

It is never acceptable to interact with wildlife in such a way, Hobbs said, expressing her frustration over a stunt pulled for social media clout.

“It’s not uncommon to get calls this time of year about cubs being alone, but certainly, we don’t usually have people go out and start pulling them out of trees to take selfies with them,” she told the Citizen Times.

In a press release, the wildlife commission stated a bear cub bit one of the people during the interaction.

They are fortunate the mother didn't bite them, or rip their head off. Sensational stupidity! If that mama bear had returned, those fools would all be in the hospital fighting for their lives, or, perhaps making the new list of Darwin awards.

“The cub appeared to be lethargic and frightened. It looked to be favoring one of its front paws and was wet and shivering,” Hobbs said in the release.

Only one bear was located. Hobbs said it’s her hope that the other cub was reunited safely with its mom. Mama bears will often leave their cubs in a safe place while they forage for food, but if a cub is separated from its mother for too long, it could die.

Also, Hobbs said, mother bears are extremely protective of their babies and the group put themselves in a “dangerous situation.”

“I tried telling them to stop, but they wouldn’t listen so I thought recording it might help get justice for the sweet bear cub,” Staudt told the Citizen Times.

“I’m not sure how long it went on for, but far too long.”

Officials said the group of selfie-takers were given a “stern” talking to about how dangerous it is to interact with bear cubs.

Surely there is a law about mistreatment of wild animals in North Carolina.