Zambia Cancels Hippo Cull After Activist Pressure, Hunters Say

(Bloomberg) -- Zambia has canceled a plan to cull 2,000 hippos in the Luangwa Valley after a concerted campaign by animal activists, the hunting group contracted to kill the animals said.

“Since it was officially announced in 2018 that the cull program will commence in 2019, we have been bombarded with hate mail, calls and messages on social media and mainstream media,” South Africa’s Umlilo Safaris said in a letter posted on the AfricaHunting.com website. “The abuse and profanity does get to you.”

The plan by the Zambian government was initially planned in 2016 before being canceled and reinstated two years later. The cull, which would have seen the animals shot by trophy hunters, was needed to stop the spread of anthrax among wild animals, the government had said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Antony Sguazzin in Johannesburg at asguazzin@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alastair Reed at areed12@bloomberg.net

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