Namibia's unwanted lions face relocation again

WINDHOEK, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- A pride of lions implicated in the killing of more than 200 small livestock in Nov. 2017 and relocated to the Erongo region, west of Namibia, will be moved again after some farmers raised concerns.

Environment ministry spokesperson Romeo Muyunda said Wednesday that the decision to relocate the lions to Etosha National Park is to avoid any further public concerns.

Muyunda said in a statement that the environment ministry takes issues of human-wildlife conflict management seriously.

"Our lion conflict reduction management strategies include capture and translocation to other areas where it is deemed that the animal will not cause conflict with people," Muyunda said.

He said should rogue animals continue to cause problems, then they can be destroyed or put up for trophy hunting.

Although the pride of eight lions has not caused any problems in their new habitat, their presence has caused some small livestock farmers discomfort.

Muyunda said if the human-wildlife management is not addressed appropriately with the necessary understanding and respect, it can harm if not destroy conservation efforts and tourism benefits for the country.

"We recognize this threat, and in this regard, we have finalized the review of the National Policy on Human-Wildlife Conflict Management which has been approved, in principle, by Cabinet and will now be presented to Parliament," Muyunda said.

The lions were relocated from the Torra Conservancy in Kunene region, north-west of Namibia about 400 kilometers from Windhoek in Nov. 2017 after they had killed more than 200 small livestock.

According to Muyunda, the lions attacked the small livestock after the first rainfall in the Kunene area that caused some prey to drift away. Enditem