Zimbabwe sells elephants to China despite protests

In the teeth of protests from national and international wildlife organizations, the government of Zimbabwe maintains its sales of elephants to China.

"We will not apologize to anyone," Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, Environment, Water and Climate Minister said in an interview with the Herald newspaper on Sunday. "Not even once because they are our elephants and our people live with a huge population of elephants and bear the trouble of interacting with them."

According to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna, the African elephant population in Zimbabwe is not necessarily threatened with extinction but could become so if trade were not strictly regulated.

The Zimbabwean government has recently exported 24 more elephants to China, with 170 more due to be shipped. The elephants are reportedly destined for the Chimelong Safari Park in Guangdong Province of China, where wild animals often appear in circus-style performances. The government estimates that there are 84,000 elephants in the country, but conservationists dispute that number.

“We have lost hundreds of elephants in Zimbabwe over the past few years due to cyanide poaching with some cases going unreported, hence our call for a fresh audit of our elephants,” Zimbabwe Conservationist Task Force Chairman Johnny Rodrigues said in an interview with Anadolu Agency on Wednesday.

Rodrigues called the sales inhumane, insisting that financial consideration were behind the elephant exports. Each elephant earns about $50,000.

"This is killing our nation as our heritage is being exported. We could, instead, have made money each time Chinese tourists could come to see the animals in their natural habitat in Zimbabwe,” Rodrigues said.