By Nhau Mangirazi A 68-YEAR-OLD man from Laughing Hills Farm in Hurungwe was on Monday trampled to death by a herd of elephants while he was tending to his field.
Kenneth Machengo’s body was discovered late in the afternoon prompting the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) to deploy rangers to track the animals.
ZimParks spokesperson Tinashe Farawo confirmed the incident.
He said they were working on repealing the Wildlife Act of 1975 that did not cater for compensation of victims of human-wildlife conflict.
“This is yet another sad day as we have lost a life due to human and wildlife conflict. As ZimParks, we are appealing to communal farmers to lobby policymakers, including councillors and Members of Parliament so that the Act is repealed to help deceased persons’ families. It’s a policy framework we are working on and need stakeholders’ input as we look forward,” he said.
Farawo said wild animals could create employment for communities and bring the much-needed revenue through professional hunting and ecotourism with proceeds being channelled to the development of health facilities, roads and schools among other amenities, he added.
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“The sad reality is that we have an overpopulation of these animals, especially elephants, and the country can’t cull them due to international treaties safeguarding animal rights,” he said.