The environment ministry in Namibia says it has auctioned 57 elephants, with the majority going to buyers abroad.

The ministry says the auction is needed to reduce the number of elephants intruding on the human population, and says the $400,000 (£290,000) raised will support conservation programmes.

But critics say there are far fewer elephants in Namibia than the government estimates, and that officials have no right to sell animals that naturally migrate across the continent.

Like several other African nations, Namibia is trying to strike a balance between protecting high-value species like elephants and rhinos, while managing the danger they pose when they encroach on areas of human habitation.

Recently, Namibia said it was considering withdrawing from the rules that govern the global trade in endangered species. This was after countries voted during a CITES meeting to reject proposals to relax restrictions on hunting and exporting its white rhinos.

The country wants to allow more trophy hunting and the export of live animals, arguing that the funds it would raise would help it to protect the species.

In October 2020, it put 70 female and 30 male buffaloes from Waterberg Plateau Park in central Namibia up for sale in a bid to ease pressure on grazing land.

The arid southern African nation also auctioned 1,000 animals from national parks, including 500 buffaloes, in 2019 as it faced its worst drought in a century.

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