Government accused of inflating elephant population
Date: 13 September 2004
Source: Zim Online (SA)Author: Anon
Harare - Wildlife conservationists in Zimbabwe have accused the government of inflating the country's elephant population to dupe a Convention on International Trade on Endangered Species (CITES) meeting next month to allow Harare to continue trading in the animal. The Zimbabwe Conservation Taskforce said corrupt government officials benefiting from illegal trade in ivory were inflating the number of elephants in the country so that Zimbabwe would be allowed to continue controlled sales of ivory and other elephant products. The taskforce brings together independent wildlife conservationists and groups in the country. The group says Zimbabwe has about 50 000 to 60 000 elephants while the government has put the elephant population at 100 000. Taskforce chairman Johnny Rodrigues, said: "The (government) figures are wrong. This kind of exaggeration is meant to hoodwink CITES into allowing Zimbabwe to cull elephants. Zimbabwe should not be allowed to trade in ivory and other elephant products because we don't have enough of the animals. It is corrupt government officials who want to benefit from illegal trade." Rodrigues said there had been no scientific census for the last three years to determine the number of elephants in the country.
Poaching of elephants and other animals has been at its worst in Zimbabwe in the last three years because of the government's chaotic land reforms that have seen landless black peasants sometimes being resettled on game conservancies. The newly resettled peasants also turned to hunting because of food shortages that have gripped the country in the last three years. Environment and Tourism Minister Francis Nhema said Harare will ask CITES, which meets in the Thai capital, Bangkok next month, to keep the Zimbabwean elephant on Appendix Two, which permits controlled trade in ivory and other elephant products. The taskforce wants Zimbabwe's elephants put under Appendix One which would bar any form of trade in the animals. Nhema said: "I know that he (Rodrigues) has teamed up with some people from outside this country to campaign for elephants to be classified in Appendix 1. But we will fight against that because what use will be the elephants to us if they don't bring money to help the communities? We have more than enough elephants." Nhema said it was difficult to conduct a conclusive survey of elephants in Zimbabwe because the animals often crossed to neighbouring Botswana and Zambia. He said because of that the figures being given by both the government and the independent conservationists' could all be wrong. Besides Zimbabwe, three other countries, South Africa, Botswana and Namibia are at the moment permitted by CITES to engage in limited and controlled trade in ivory and other elephant products.