1 250 hippos may be culled in Zambia’s world-renowned Luangwa Valley over the next five years, in a ‘population control’ manoeuvre instituted by the Zambian government.

Some media say that Zambian Minister of Tourism and Arts, Charles Banda, indicated that a contract was entered into in 2015 with Mabwe Adventures – the hunting organisation contracted to execute the cull – authorising the action, which was then overturned in 2016 with an anti-cull decision. However, an article in IOL reported: “According to a source close to the Department of National Parks and Wildlife, the department was sued by Mabwe Adventures, the hunting company contracted to execute the cull. A recent court ruling in Mabwe’s favour fuelled the department’s sudden backtracking on its 2016 anti-cull decision in order to avoid paying compensation, the source says.”

Tourism Update spoke to Banda, who says: “There is no culling of hippos taking place anywhere in Zambia right now. The contract signed under the now-defunct Zambia Wildlife Authority is before Cabinet. The final decision will come from there whether to uphold or terminate the contract.”

The decision to cull will, in effect, allow South African trophy hunters in the Luangwa Valley to hunt at least 1 250 hippos – equating to 250 hippos annually for the next five years, ending 2022, said conservation journalist, Louzel Lombard Steyn. The reason for the cull, said Banda in previous reports, “is to control the hippo population on the Luangwa River so as to maintain a suitable habitat for other aquatic species and wildlife in general”.

However, various scientists, including those from Zambia’s own Wildlife Authority disagree. A paper published in the International Journal of Biodiversity and Conservation in 2013 by Dr. Chansa Chomba, who headed up the Department of Research, Planning, Information and Veterinary Services for ZAWA at the time, indicated that that culls were ineffective in controlling hippo populations and, in fact, rather stimulated the population growth in Luangwa.

“The act of culling removes excess males and frees resources for the remaining female individuals, leading to increased births […] rather than suppressing population growth rate,” the scientific and peer-reviewed research states.

Furthermore, hunting authorities in the region are concerned that the “so-called cull is in direct contrast with all safari hunting concessions along the Luangwa Valley”. According to the Safari Hunting Concession agreement, stakeholders are not legally allowed to invite external parties into their territories for commercial hunting. Despite this, a number of hunting sites are openly advertising the government-authorised cull, offering hunting packages at different fees. Extracts from some of these sites read as follows:

“National Parks has awarded the contract, which includes all the info you want which includes the right to sell the hunts as cull hunts, etc.”

“It is a lot of hippos…and a lot of work. Every hippo has to be fully utilised.”

[Hunting will take place] “from June (as the river’s water level is getting better from then), until end of October (not later due to heat versus processing of hippos after the each kill).”

“No more than 2 x hippos per day are hunted, in order to complete the processing afterwards.”

Conservation advocate, Born Free, says “the negative consequences for thousands of hippo and Zambia’s reputation as a wildlife tourism destination cannot be underestimated”. Such a mass slaughter in a supposedly protected national park could blur the boundaries of conservation efforts in the national parks of not only Zambia, but the rest of Africa too.