Hundreds of safari animals have been transported across Zimbabwe to a poaching-prone nature reserve ahead of a UN meeting to make the area appear populated.
The decision to move the animals from a private conservancy in southeastern Zimbabwe to Victoria falls is to ‘repopulate’ the preserve before the United Nations world tourism body’s meeting for the benefit of visiting delegates.
151 wildebeests, 100 impalas, 60 zebras, 25 eland and ten giraffes have been transported for over 400 miles, the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force of independent environmentalists said.
The animals have been released in the five sq mile ZambeziNational Park overlooking the ZambeziRiver and the Victoria Falls.
The decision to hold the six-day summit at Victoria Falls, on the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia, was met with raised eyebrows, as President Mugabe’s recent election victory was marred with accusations of vote rigging.
The UN World Tourism Organization announced on Sunday that it has chosen Zimbabwe to lead its Commission for Africa, the continent-wide group for tourism development for the next two years.
The U.N. World Tourism Organization, meanwhile, advised participants at Victoria Falls that no conference documentation will be distributed on paper to save trees ‘in compliance with the United Nations system’s environmental protection policy.’
The six-day general assembly was formally opened by the two countries’ presidents, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and Michael Sata of Zambia.
The two host nations automatically take over the presidency of the U.N. tourism organization during the summit, which is expected to be attended by about 1,200 delegates from governments and tourism enterprises worldwide.
Zimbabwean authorities say at least 81 elephants have been killed for their ivory tusks by poachers using cyanide poison in water holes in a vast western national park.