By NATION REPORTER
PEOPLE living near Kasungu National Park on the Zambian-Malawi border have threatened to take legal action against the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) for putting elephants in the , which they say are terrorising people and have so far killed 12 human beings.
The communities argue that the relocation of more than 250 elephants on the Malawi-Zambia border resulted in the animals regularly breaking out of the park and entering nearby settlements and farms, causing the deaths, serious injuries to others and damage to property and farmland as well as hardship and distress.
The people have also claimed that 12 people have been killed by the huge mammals leaving several others maimed.
A law firm Leigh Day has been instructed by 10 clients living in areas of Western Malawi and Eastern Zambia which have been particularly affected by the translocation. They say they have suffered a range of damage, including property damage, physical and psychological injuries, financial losses, as well as pain, suffering and loss of amenity.
On behalf of the clients, Leigh Day has written to IFAW UK, IFAW Zambia and IFAW Malawi to raise their concerns. The claimants acknowledge IFAW’s work as a charity which aims to have a positive impact on the conservation of animals globally. As such, they are primarily seeking meaningful engagement from IFAW to promptly resolve the harms they have allegedly suffered as a result of the translocation and allow them to live safely in their communities again. However, should such engagement not be forthcoming, Leigh Day has been instructed to bring claims by issuing proceedings in the High Court of England and Wales. NGO Warm Hearts has recorded more than 11, 000 victims who have suffered crop or property damage, personal injury or loss of a loved one and estimates that millions of dollars worth of damage has been inflicted on farmers as a result of the translocation of the elephants. In July 2022, more than 250 elephants were moved from Liwonde National Park in southern Malawi to the country’s second-largest protected area, Kasungu National Park, in what is understood to be one of the largest translocations of elephants ever attempted.
The claimants say that IFAW failed to conduct proper due diligence, undertake necessary precautions and implement a suitable boundary fence prior to the movement of the elephants.
They say the action placed the well-being of the elephants above that of local communities.
In the days after the translocation, two people were killed by elephants in the area and a third person was killed in September that year.
Communities warned of growing problems with human-wildlife conflict as the elephants moved away from the centre of nature reserve to the border where there are multiple farms.
The communities say the translocation of the elephants has seriously disrupted their lives in a number of ways such as deaths and injuries by elephants entering community areas and attacking people.
