99 Animals Die of Thirst

Source: The Herald (Harare)

Date: 18 November 2005

Author: Anon

The National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority has so far lost 99 animals at Hwange National Park.

This was revealed by the authority's public relations manager Retired Major Edward Mbewe.

Rtd Maj Mbewe told journalists during a tour of the park on Tuesday that more than 40 elephants, 53 buffaloes, a giraffe, three zebras and two impalas succumbed to thirst and black leg, a disease that affects animals when the ground is too dry.

"We are losing a lot when the elephants die naturally because each costs US$12 000. The community needs to benefit from the park but if we let the animals die like this, people will remain poor," he said.

Rtd Maj Mbewe said his office had forwarded recommendations to the Government seeking authority to cull the elephants from 75 000 to "manageable figures."

He said Hwange National Park, which is 14 000 square metres, had a carrying capacity of 14 000 elephants because each jumbo was supposed to live in 1 000 square metres.

Acting provincial veterinary officer for Masvingo Dr Charity Sibanda yesterday confirmed the anthrax-related deaths of the three people and scores of cattle in Bikita.

Dr Sibanda said it was disturbing that the highly contagious disease had resurfaced in Masvingo this year in the aftermath of a massive anthrax outbreak last year, which almost decimated the province's beef herd.

"There has been an outbreak of anthrax in the province over the past few weeks which has already claimed three human lives and 14 livestock in Bikita. We suspect that most people who were affected by the disease might have contracted it from biltong made from beef from animals that died during last year's outbreak," said Dr Sibanda.

She added that the outbreak had to date been reported in six districts, namely Masvingo, Bikita, Zaka, Chivi, Gutu and Chiredzi. Zaka was the worst affected in terms of livestock fatalities with 64 cattle having already succumbed to anthrax. In Gutu, the disease has claimed 32 cattle while 17 cattle died in Masvingo district with Chiredzi and Chivi recording less than 10 deaths each.

Dr Sibanda said the veterinary department did not have sufficient stocks of anthrax vaccines to inoculate all the cattle.

"We only have enough stocks to cater for areas where outbreaks of the disease would have been reported. We would have wanted to go on a wholesale vaccination exercise of all the cattle in the province, but we cannot do that because we do not have enough stocks to inject all the cattle at once," said Dr Sibanda.

Last year, anthrax - which is an acute infectious disease caused by spore-forming bacteria, called bacillus anthracis, which can stay in an environment for about 60 years, killed hundreds of cattle in Masvingo Province.

The disease has already severely dented Masvingo's efforts to replenish its beef herd