President Robert Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe for 35 years celebrated his 91st birthday on Saturday, February 21, 2015 and his supporters are preparing a party at Victoria Falls at which two elephants, two buffalos, two sables, five impalas and a lion are to be slaughtered.
They will be killed to provide meat for the 20 000 guests expected to at the party which is scheduled for Saturday, February 28, 2015.
The animals were pledged for donation by Tendai Musasa, a wealthy land owner with ties to the administration.
“This is our way of supporting the function and to ensure a celebratory mood in our community as well,” Musasa was quoted as saying. “The total value is $120,000. This reflects the money we get annually and we thought this would be a perfect gesture.”
Workers up and down the country have been force to contribute to the party which is estimated to be about £3/4million.£7 taken from teacher’s monthly salary in the country.
The slaughtering of animals to provide meat has triggered worldwide criticism.
Animal rights activist, Johnny Rodrigues is outraged by this inhumane act to animals saying it is hihgly unethical.
He said, “I am not in favour of anyone donating wild animals for a celebration or for any other reason.
“They have been doing this for years now. Every time there is a celebration or on independence day, several elephants and buffalo are killed for the celebrations. This is totally unethical and should not be allowed.”
“Villagers said the animals involved were part of their annual hunting quota and donating them meant no income for the whole year. They said they were powerless because challenging the donation could be misinterpreted as unwillingness to participate towards the celebrations.”
