A man sits next to a dead lion at a village in Opuwo, north-western Namibia, Feb. 13, 2016. The man gunned down the lion after it killed a bull, a dog and left a cow wounded in Opuwo. (Xinhua/Nampa)

WINDHOEK, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Namibia's Ministry of Environment and Tourism has decided to either capture or translocate a pride of 15 lions after a devastating attack on about 86 goats belonging to a farmer from the Kunene region, a government official said.

The ministry stated in a press statement Monday that arrangements are underway to move the lions, noting that if capturing the animals proves difficult, the ministry might be forced to eliminate them completely.

According to Spokesperson Romeo Muyunda, the ministry will continue to keep to other ways to prevent and mitigate Human Wildlife Conflict (HWC) so as to manage the situation.

Muyunda said that one of the strategies that the ministry is looking into is to dispose the animals through trophy hunting but still maintaining healthy population numbers.

"The ministry takes HWC management very seriously, it is a complex and serious problem that if not addressed appropriately can harm conservation efforts and tourism benefits for the country. We recognize this threat," he said.

The ministry is currently finalizing the review of the National Policy on Human Wildlife Conflict Management which has been endorsed by cabinet and will now go to parliament for final consideration and approval.

Under this policy, a Human Wildlife Conflict Management Plan for North West Namibia has been developed and will be implemented fully.

This comes just a week after a farmer from the Kunene region lost about 86 goats from a lion attack. The lions managed to get into the kraal, and killed nearly all the goats and sheep, as well as the dog.