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Zimbabwe To Cull Dozens Of Elephants, Distribute Meat To Locals
Elephant meat is rarely eaten but those who have tried it say it tastes like gamey beef.
Zimbabwe, the southern African country home to the second-biggest elephant population in the world after Botswana, will cull dozens of elephants and distribute the meat to its people to ease the sudden boom in the population of the pachyderms.
Wildlife authorities in Zimbabwe made the announcement on Tuesday, news agency AFP said in a report. Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority (ZimParks) said in a statement that the culling will occur at a vast private game reserve in the southeast and would initially target 50 elephants.
'Elephant meat from the management exercise will be distributed to local communities while ivory will be state property that will be handed over to the ZimParks for safekeeping," it said.
Elephant meat is rarely consumed globally due to legal and ethical concerns, but in regions where it's eaten, it has been described as tasting similar to beef or pork, with a gamey flavor and slightly sweet undertones. The meat is typically dense and fibrous, often requiring slow cooking methods like stewing or braising to tenderize it, according to Chef's Resource and The Trellis.
Nutritionally, elephant meat is lean, low in cholesterol and rich in protein, iron, and B-vitamins, attributed to the animal's herbivorous diet of grasses, fruits and bark, according to Eat Delights.
There was no clarity over how many of the animals would be killed in total or over what period.
An aerial survey in 2024 showed the reserve, the Save Valley Conservancy, had 2,550 elephants, more than triple its carrying capacity of 800, ZimParks said.
At least 200 have been translocated to other parks over the past five years.
Zimbabwe is unable to sell its stockpile of tusks due to a global ban on ivory trading.
Tuesday's announcement came a day after four people were arrested in the capital Harare with more than 230 kilogrammes (500 pounds) of ivory for which they were allegedly seeking a buyer.
In 2024, Zimbabwe culled 200 elephants as it faced an unprecedented drought that led to food shortages. It was the first major cull since 1988.
The move to hunt the elephants for food has drawn sharp criticism, particularly as the animals are a major tourism draw.
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Shankhyaneel Sarkar
First Published:
June 03, 2025, 21:35 IST
