Namibia plans to cull 723 wild animals to manage pasture and provide meat to people struggling with food shortages caused by a severe drought in southern Africa.

The environment ministry said it will cull 83 elephants, 300 zebras, 100 eland antelope, 100 blue wildebeest, 60 buffalo, 50 impala and 30 hippos from parks and communal areas where animal numbers have exceeded available grazing land and water supplies.

The ministry said the severe drought throughout southern Africa has strained human-animal relationships, necessitating this intervention to avoid conflict.

"This exercise in necessary and is in line with our constitutional mandate where our natural resources are used for the benefit of Namibian citizens," the ministry said.

The culled animals will provide meat for vulnerable people trouble feeding themselves due to the drought. Professional hunters and companies contracted by the government have already hunted 157 animals, yielding more than 56,800 kilograms of meat.

Namibia declared a state of emergency in May over the drought and exhausted 84 percent of its food reserves last month, the United Nations said. Nearly half of Namibia's population is expected to face high levels of food insecurity in the coming months.

Namibia is part of a conservation area spanning five countries, including Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana and Angola, home to more than 200,000 elephants. Hundreds of elephants died in Botswana and Zimbabwe last year due to the drought.

The animals to be culled will come from Namib Naukluft Park, Mangetti National Park, Bwabwata National Park, Mudumu National Park and Nkasa Rupara National Park.