Environmentalists in The Gambia are up in arms against the government after the shooting dead of a hippo blamed for the death of a herdsman near the provincial town of Bansang.
The hippo had mauled cattle herder Dawda Jallow in a part of the River Gambia straddling the the village of Jafaye last Sunday, causing panic in the local community and calls for it to be put down.
A renowned hunter Demba Njie and his party of hunters were hired by the Departmnt of Parks and Wildlife to identify and put down the killer hippo, tracking it down on the banks of the river and shooting it on Monday evening.
However, wildlife conservationists have condemned the killing of the mother hippo as an attack on conservation by te same department which should be protecting precious game.
They have taken the government to task for allowing the elimination of the hippo which to them is against the 1977 wildlife Act under the Banjul Declaration, which protects national wildlife.
WN/as/APA