OMUTHIYA – Two marauding lionesses have been put down by farmers and environment officials in the Oshikoto region after the predators attacked and killed livestock near Oshivelo over the past couple of weeks.  

The pride of lions reportedly killed six cattle, a horse and four goats in the Oshivelo area. “The lions were taken down by our officials on Wednesday night, as they have been declared problematic lions because they have been frequently escaping from the park despite being captured and returned,” said environment ministry spokesperson Romeo Muyunda.

 He said a decision was taken to put down the lions in order to avoid further livestock losses. 

“They have been dangerous, therefore, we needed to alleviate the danger as they will not stop because they have gotten used to easy prey,” he added. 

In addition, Muyunda said farmers will be assisted with claims for losses as per the Human-Wildlife Conflict Self-Reliance Scheme. 

The policy indicates that an amount of N$100 000 is paid for funeral expenses in the instance of death, while those injured by wild animals are paid N$50 000 and for loss of body parts, victims get N$30 000. For the loss of a cattle, farmers get N$3 000, N$800 for a horse and N$700 for sheep, while compensation for a goat is set at N$500. 

The headman of Oshivelo, Erwin Nashikaku said a report was received last week that there were lions hunting in the area, to which the community were informed and mobilised. 

“I can confirm that they were shot at one farm in the area of Oshivelo, after which I requested the community to take the carcasses to the (Ondonga) king’s palace as per customs. This was done and the carcasses were given back to the environment officials,” briefly said Nashikaku.

– osimasiku@nepc.com.na