Source: "Zimbabwe: Parks Authority to Produce Biltong From Elephant Meat" The Herald (Harare)
The Parks and Wildlife Management Authority of Zimbabwe says it plans to produce biltong from elephant meat for sale in retail outlets throughout the country as part of sustainable utilisation of the animals.
Parks director-general Dr Morris Mtsambiwa said the project begun last year after the Ministry of Environment and Tourism permitted the authority to experiment with the said resource. "It is in our plans. We plan to start this year. We tried it last year and we found that we did not have the proper infrastructure for the purpose," he said. Dr Mtsambiwa said the authority would apply to the Ministry of Environment and Tourism for a quota of elephants to slaughter every year, after which it would build some abattoirs. He said slaughtering the animals for biltong would, however, not contribute in reducing the size of the elephant herd in the country, which has far surpassed the carrying capacity of the National Parks.
The country would need to slaughter at least 6 000 animals every year to have an impact on the population of the elephants. It is estimated that there are more than 100 000 elephants in Zimbabwe, a figure three times more than the carrying capacity of the protected areas. Currently, the country slaughters at least 500 elephants every year with the meat distributed to communities living adjacent to the game parks. The size of the elephant herd is posing serious environmental challenges in Zimbabwe and other Southern African countries including Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, South Africa and Zambia.
It is estimated that the regional elephant population has now surpassed 400 000 and is growing at between 4 to 7 percent every year. The affected countries have since formulated an African Elephant Management Strategy that seeks to address the problem of the ballooning population." We have agreed on a work plan which we will start implementing this year," said Dr Mtsambiwa.
He said the work plan was agreed on at a meeting of director-generals of national parks in the region held in the town of Pemba in Mozambique in November last year. The meeting agreed that an aerial survey be conducted simultaneously in the respective countries to establish the population of the elephants in order to avoid double counting, he said.
Zimbabwe currently heads the regional task force on finding strategies to control the population of elephants in the region. At least some options have since been identified to control the elephant population, including contraception, culling and translocation. It was agreed that individual countries would take options depending on resources at their disposal, capacity and situation.
Contraception was a preferred option in view of pressure from animal rights groups against culling although it is expensive and sometimes does not work.
The Parks and Wildlife Management Authority of Zimbabwe says it plans to produce biltong from elephant meat for sale in retail outlets throughout the country as part of sustainable utilisation of the animals.
Parks director-general Dr Morris Mtsambiwa said the project begun last year after the Ministry of Environment and Tourism permitted the authority to experiment with the said resource. "It is in our plans. We plan to start this year. We tried it last year and we found that we did not have the proper infrastructure for the purpose," he said. Dr Mtsambiwa said the authority would apply to the Ministry of Environment and Tourism for a quota of elephants to slaughter every year, after which it would build some abattoirs. He said slaughtering the animals for biltong would, however, not contribute in reducing the size of the elephant herd in the country, which has far surpassed the carrying capacity of the National Parks.
The country would need to slaughter at least 6 000 animals every year to have an impact on the population of the elephants. It is estimated that there are more than 100 000 elephants in Zimbabwe, a figure three times more than the carrying capacity of the protected areas. Currently, the country slaughters at least 500 elephants every year with the meat distributed to communities living adjacent to the game parks. The size of the elephant herd is posing serious environmental challenges in Zimbabwe and other Southern African countries including Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, South Africa and Zambia.
It is estimated that the regional elephant population has now surpassed 400 000 and is growing at between 4 to 7 percent every year. The affected countries have since formulated an African Elephant Management Strategy that seeks to address the problem of the ballooning population." We have agreed on a work plan which we will start implementing this year," said Dr Mtsambiwa.
He said the work plan was agreed on at a meeting of director-generals of national parks in the region held in the town of Pemba in Mozambique in November last year. The meeting agreed that an aerial survey be conducted simultaneously in the respective countries to establish the population of the elephants in order to avoid double counting, he said.
Zimbabwe currently heads the regional task force on finding strategies to control the population of elephants in the region. At least some options have since been identified to control the elephant population, including contraception, culling and translocation. It was agreed that individual countries would take options depending on resources at their disposal, capacity and situation.
Contraception was a preferred option in view of pressure from animal rights groups against culling although it is expensive and sometimes does not work.
1 comment:
Have been tired of looking for new recipes to have a different taste and presentation? Well, your search is over because with biltong, you can serve it in any way you want. It can even be well blended with spices, cream cheese and sauces. buy biltong online origin is in South Africa and this is one of their famous delicacies. It is made from ostrich and beef. This has been invented to substitute the fresh meat during the European settlers in South Africa.
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