Zim's defends plans to sell elephants

HARARE - Zimbabwe has defended plans to sell elephants for up to $40,000 (£26,000) each, saying it needs the money to run its biggest game reserve.

An official said more than 60 elephants could be sold to buyers in China, France and the United Arab Emirates. Last month, a campaign group condemned the plan as inhumane.

Some groups fear that African elephants could become extinct because of an increase in poaching.

Geoffreys Matipano, conservation director at Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authorities, said the money raised could help meet the $2.3 million annual running costs of the Hwange National Park, Bloomberg news agency reports.

We are pursuing it aggressively as part of conservation efforts because we have plenty of elephants here," he is quoted as saying.

"We don't receive state funding and we rely on selling animals for our day to day operations. We are nowhere near what we want," he added.