Plan to slaughter hippos slammed

A plan by the Zambian authorities to slaughter 2 000 hippos on the grounds of population control has been slammed by conservationists who assert the real motive is making a financial killing through trophy hunters, according to a report yesterday.

“Currently the hippo population in the South Luangwa National Park stands at over 13 000, but Luangwa can only cater for 5 000 hippos,” said a tourism official who asked to remain anonymous.