Zimbabwe to sell wildlife in bid to tackle drought

In the midst of a depleting drought, Zimbabwe is putting its wildlife up for sale.

The Zimbabwe Parks & Wildlife Management Authority, known as Zimparks, said that “in light of the drought… [the Authority] intends to destock its park estates through selling some of the wildlife,” in a statement reported by Reuters on Tuesday.

It asked interested parties “with the capacity to acquire and manage wildlife”—including enough land to house the creatures—to get in contact.

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Zimbabwe is home to 10 national parks and a wide variety of wildlife, including elephants, rhinos, lions and leopards. Wildlife populations are threatened by poaching, with Zimbabwean authorities recentlyhaving to put down a rare black rhino—one of just 5,000 remaining in the world—called Ntombi after she was badly hurt by poachers. The poaching of a popular Zimbabwean lion called Cecil in July 2015 near the Hwange National Park by American dentist Wal-ter Palmer also sparked global outrage. 

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