Zimbabwe exports elephants to China for wildlife conservation

(CRI) Zimbabwe will use the money raised by exporting elephants to China for wildlife protection, says Caroline Washaya-Moyo, spokesperson of the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZPWMA). It has been confirmed by ZPWMA that 35 elephants were sold to China on December 23rd, 2016, reports People's Daily Online. The whole export and transportation process are finished in accordance with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and regulations pertaining to the trade and transportation of live animals, as the spokesperson explains. Zimbabwe exports elephants abroad in order to raise money for further wildlife conservation. Further, the there is an ample elephant population in most areas of Zimbabwe, far beyond the carrying capacity of the place, she added.  Exporting helps slow the growth of the elephant herd. For now, there are 83,000 elephants in Zimbabwe, ranking second in Africa, with 45,000 of them living in the Hwange National Park, which is only supposed to hold a maximum of 15,000 elephants at a time, reports People's Daily Online. As per the spokesperson, this situation has wreaked havoc on the ecological environment in the park, as well as affected the existence and reproduction of other species. Large numbers of elephants have led to severe environmental degradation and the loss of biodiversity.  Before exporting the elephants to China, inspectors of Zimbabwe have made a thorough assessment of wildlife parks in China. "We are very satisfied with the places which will be the future home for those elephants" says Caroline Washaya-Moyo. On December 29th last year, Hua Chunying, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has said, "It's been international practices for a wildlife park to import wild animals abroad. Technologies related to wildlife park in China have reached to an international level. We can take good care of those imported African elephants and help improve the publicity of African elephants' protection." Source: CRI from China Travel & Tourism News http://ift.tt/1iB6EFm