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- Two elephants that escaped from the Lekubu Game Farm were shot dead by provincial officials on Tuesday.
- The community of Lekubung reported that the elephants were damaging their properties.
- The elephants left the game farm through a broken fence.
Residents of Lekubung in Zeerust, North West, feasted on two elephants killed by provincial authorities on Tuesday.
The elephants had escaped from a game farm.
In a video taken at the scene where the elephants were killed, people could be seen skinning the animals.
As they cut the meat and removed the skin from the elephant, multiple voices can be heard in the background, saying: "Go, take a piece."
Jonathan Denga, the director of biodiversity management and conservation in the North West Department of Economic Development, Environment Conservation and Tourism, said the elephants had, since 27 April, regularly left the game farm through a broken fence.
Community members were concerned for their safety, and said the elephants ruined their property.
Denga said residents threatened to strike and close the roads because the issue was not being addressed.
"Community members said they didn't feel safe. And we had to do something about it. The elephants would normally target a blue container that wasn't too far from the farm because they thought it was a toy," he said.
Denga said residents alerted them on Tuesday that the elephants were back.
"Yesterday, late morning, our two employees shot two elephants in a bush between the community of Lekubung and the game reserve. It was a controlled shooting," said Denga.
Denga said claims that the community had illegally poached the elephants were incorrect.
"We told the community they could extract the elephant meat, but leave the skull and tusks. They were not butchering the elephants, they were permitted to take the meat," said Denga.
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Denga said poaching affected the area and, because the fencing around the game reserve was made of copper, it was stolen by people, which left gaps for the elephants to exit.
Denga said plans were under way to fix the game farm fencing to ensure the elephants were safe.
"We are trying to find a home for the elephants because they are unsafe here. We want to protect them from poaching," he said.
He added that the control of damage-causing animals, including elephants, was managed by national legislation.
