03:52The Namibian government announced plans to kill more than 700 animals on Monday - and use the meat to feed the population - with a severe drought leading to food shortages in the country.
Footage captured in Okaukuejo on Friday shows elephants, zebras and gazelles walking around. Meanwhile, a wildlife veterinarian can be seen feeding rhinos at the Etosha National Park. Footage also shows animal corpses lying around on barren ground.
"It is a very serious drought, one of the severest that I've seen. As you can see here, there should be grass, knee-high to hip-high, and there is nothing," explained Dr Simone Herzog, a wildlife veterinarian at Okutala Etosha Lodge
The wild animals set to be culled include 83 elephants, 30 hippos, 60 buffalo, 50 impala, 100 blue wildebeest and 300 zebras, according to the Namibian Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT).
"Drought is real here in Namibia. The impact is felt by our people. And, we cannot overlook the plight of our people at the time where they need us most," MEFT Chief Public Relations Officer Romeo Muyuda said during an interview filmed on Friday.
"How do you now balance conservation versus the needs of the people? So, you need to make sometimes, harder decisions, maybe unpopular but you need to take decisions so that you appease the people to encourage co-existence," he added.
One local farmer, Victor Shiphoh, said that they are not harvesting any crops this year because of the drought: "we ploughed during December to January and then our crops started to grow, and they just die after every stage."
Media reports estimate that 1.4 million people, nearly half of Namibia's population, are at risk of significant food scarcity. The government announced a state of emergency in May.
'You need to make hard decisions' - Namibia to cull over 700 wild animals to feed population amid drought, food shortages
The Namibian government announced plans to kill more than 700 animals on Monday - and use the meat to feed the population - with a severe drought leading to food shortages in the country.
Footage captured in Okaukuejo on Friday shows elephants, zebras and gazelles walking around. Meanwhile, a wildlife veterinarian can be seen feeding rhinos at the Etosha National Park. Footage also shows animal corpses lying around on barren ground.
"It is a very serious drought, one of the severest that I've seen. As you can see here, there should be grass, knee-high to hip-high, and there is nothing," explained Dr Simone Herzog, a wildlife veterinarian at Okutala Etosha Lodge
The wild animals set to be culled include 83 elephants, 30 hippos, 60 buffalo, 50 impala, 100 blue wildebeest and 300 zebras, according to the Namibian Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT).
"Drought is real here in Namibia. The impact is felt by our people. And, we cannot overlook the plight of our people at the time where they need us most," MEFT Chief Public Relations Officer Romeo Muyuda said during an interview filmed on Friday.
"How do you now balance conservation versus the needs of the people? So, you need to make sometimes, harder decisions, maybe unpopular but you need to take decisions so that you appease the people to encourage co-existence," he added.
One local farmer, Victor Shiphoh, said that they are not harvesting any crops this year because of the drought: "we ploughed during December to January and then our crops started to grow, and they just die after every stage."
Media reports estimate that 1.4 million people, nearly half of Namibia's population, are at risk of significant food scarcity. The government announced a state of emergency in May.
The Namibian government announced plans to kill more than 700 animals on Monday - and use the meat to feed the population - with a severe drought leading to food shortages in the country.
Footage captured in Okaukuejo on Friday shows elephants, zebras and gazelles walking around. Meanwhile, a wildlife veterinarian can be seen feeding rhinos at the Etosha National Park. Footage also shows animal corpses lying around on barren ground.
"It is a very serious drought, one of the severest that I've seen. As you can see here, there should be grass, knee-high to hip-high, and there is nothing," explained Dr Simone Herzog, a wildlife veterinarian at Okutala Etosha Lodge
The wild animals set to be culled include 83 elephants, 30 hippos, 60 buffalo, 50 impala, 100 blue wildebeest and 300 zebras, according to the Namibian Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT).
"Drought is real here in Namibia. The impact is felt by our people. And, we cannot overlook the plight of our people at the time where they need us most," MEFT Chief Public Relations Officer Romeo Muyuda said during an interview filmed on Friday.
"How do you now balance conservation versus the needs of the people? So, you need to make sometimes, harder decisions, maybe unpopular but you need to take decisions so that you appease the people to encourage co-existence," he added.
One local farmer, Victor Shiphoh, said that they are not harvesting any crops this year because of the drought: "we ploughed during December to January and then our crops started to grow, and they just die after every stage."
Media reports estimate that 1.4 million people, nearly half of Namibia's population, are at risk of significant food scarcity. The government announced a state of emergency in May.