African Environmental Police: SOS out as gold panners invade Zim rhino sanctuary...

African Environmental Police: SOS out as gold panners invade Zim rhino sanctuary...: KWEKWE Zimbabwes largest black rhino sanctuary, the Midlands Black Rhino Conservancy, faces imminent collapse following an invasion by illeg...

SOS out as gold panners invade Zim rhino sanctuary

KWEKWE Zimbabwes largest black rhino sanctuary, the Midlands Black Rhino Conservancy, faces imminent collapse following an invasion by illegal gold panners. Addressing a black rhino fund-raising dinner organised by Zimbabwe Cricket franchise Midwest Rhinos in Kwekwe on Saturday, Irish Ambassador to Zimbabwe Garrick Killilea said illegal gold panners had encroached into the endangered species sanctuary in pursuit of the precious mineral. We are under serious pressure and threat from poaching, illegal mining which has left a trail of environmental degradation, and tree cutting from communities looking for firewood, he said. Killileas remarks came hot on the heels of Mines minister Obert Mpofus call to government to legalise gold panning activities. The 6 500-hectare Midlands Black Rhino Conservancy, which over the past four years has not lost a single rhino to poachers, is bankrolled by well-wishers from Ireland. Killilea called on the local business community to assist in funding the conservancys operations. "We need to pay our monitors a decent salary which will allow their children to go to better schools to get better education and for that we need to raise $5 000 every month for these running costs,' he said. Source: Newsday

African Environmental Police: 14 elephants killed, 28 tusks recovered during wee...

African Environmental Police: 14 elephants killed, 28 tusks recovered during wee...: GAME rangers in Binga have shot and killed a suspected Zambian poacher, just days after another Zambian national was seriously wounded in a ...

14 elephants killed, 28 tusks recovered during weekend raid in Binga

GAME rangers in Binga have shot and killed a suspected Zambian poacher, just days after another Zambian national was seriously wounded in a shoot-out, an official said. Rangers recovered 14 pairs of ivory tusks, which translates to 28 pieces or 14 elephants dead, after the shooting on Saturday near Lubimbi 4, an area of Binga in Matabeleland North close to the Zambezi River, Parks and Wildlife Authority spokeswoman Carol Washaya-Moyo said. Washaya-Moyo said police were working with their Zambian counterparts to identify the dead poacher who was cornered by 16 parks rangers. Rangers had increased patrols in the area since last week’s shoot-out with poachers which resulted in George Chingandu of Kazungula in Zambia being shot and seriously wounded. In that raid, rangers recovered 22 tusks. Chingandu remains in the intensive care at Mpilo Hospital in Bulawayo under police guard. Washaya-Moyo said on Monday: “Over the last week, a total of 36 ivory tusks have been recovered; 67 rounds of ammunition; an AK rifle; a 375 rifle and one round; a cell phone with two Zambian lines and cooking pots. “The authority wants to continue to warn would-be poachers that illegal entry into parks estates for the purposes of hunting illegally is suicidal.” Zambian poachers cross the Zambezi in small boats and enter Zimbabwe where they kill elephants, usually during the night, and they are gone by daybreak – leaving behind carcasses with gaping wounds. Elephant ivory is typically smuggled to Asia where it is carved into ornaments. Source: Online Media

African Environmental Police: British zoos put on alert over rising threat of rh...

African Environmental Police: British zoos put on alert over rising threat of rh...: British British zoos put on alert over rising threat of rhino rustlers zoos have been warned their rhinos may be attacked by poachers becau...

African Environmental Police: Two elephants killed in Zimbabwe's Gonarezhou Nati...

African Environmental Police: Two elephants killed in Zimbabwe's Gonarezhou Nati...: FIVE suspected poachers were last week arrested for killing two elephants in Gonarezhou National Park. Police recovered four tusks, a 303...

African Environmental Police: Six elephants tusks recovered, Zambian poacher sho...

African Environmental Police: Six elephants tusks recovered, Zambian poacher sho...: Rangers at Marongora Field Station in Mashonaland West Province shot and killed a suspected Zambian national following heavy exchange of gun...

African Environmental Police: 25 elephant tusks abandoned in Hwange National Par...

African Environmental Police: 25 elephant tusks abandoned in Hwange National Par...: Police in Matabeleland North working in conjunction with the Parks and Wildlife Management Authority have launched a manhunt for six suspect...

African Environmental Police: British zoos put on alert over rising threat of rh...

African Environmental Police: British zoos put on alert over rising threat of rh...: British British zoos put on alert over rising threat of rhino rustlers zoos have been warned their rhinos may be attacked by poachers becau...

British zoos put on alert over rising threat of rhino poacher

British British zoos put on alert over rising threat of rhino rustlers zoos have been warned their rhinos may be attacked by poachers because of the soaring value of their horns in the Asian medicine market. After a rumour that it could cure cancer, the horn is now worth more than $40,000 a kilo, and gangs have been breaking into museums and auction rooms in Britain and Europe to steal trophy rhinoceros heads. The fear is zoos – and live rhinos – may be next. In an unprecedented alert, all 15 British zoos and wildlife and safari parks which hold rhinos – they have 85 animals between them – have been warned by the National Wildlife Crime Unit to tighten security and report anything suspicious to the police at once. "We have warned British zoos to be on their guard against the possibility of being targeted by criminals seeking rhino horn," said the head of the unit, Detective Inspector Brian Stuart. Concern is growing that criminals will try to break into a British zoo at night, kill or tranquillise rhinos, and cut off the horns. The potential profits might be very tempting, as a single big horn could weigh more than 5kg and be worth more than $200,000. In the past four years rhino poaching has exploded in Africa – South Africa especially – going from a total of 13 animals killed for their horn in South Africa in 2007 to 448 in 2011, the highest number ever recorded. Twelve have already been killed in South Africa this year. The head of Biaza (the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariaums), Miranda Stevenson, said she was "horrified" at the threat, but that, while security made it difficult to get into zoos, "it isn't impossible. Rhinos are big animals and in good weather most zoos will leave them out at night." A source from a big zoo in southern England said: "We are aware of the warning but our security is pretty tight. We have keepers living on site and they make night patrols." Detectives first became aware of the threat to zoos after a man was caught trying to smuggle a rhino horn out of Britain to Asia – which turned out to have come from an animal which had died of natural causes in Colchester Zoo. Powdered rhino horn has long been used as an ingredient in traditional Asian medicine, where it is reputed to lessen fevers. However, an urban myth about a senior Vietnamese politician who reputedly had his cancer cured by rhino horn swept across Asia in 2008, even though the politician has never been identified or come forward. Andrew McVey, Species Programme Manager at WWF-UK, said, "A lot of effort is going into addressing the poaching, but we have not been as successful as we would like to be," he said. The knock-on effects have involved almost 50 targeted burglaries of museums holding rhino heads in Britain and the Continent. Last July, burglars broke into Ipswich Museum and sawed the 18in horn off Rosie, the head of an Indian rhino that had been there since 1907. In February, the mounted head of a black rhino was taken from Sworders Fine Art Auctioneers in Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, and in May a similar head was taken from the Educational Museum in Haslemere, Surrey. Source: International Rhino Foundation

25 elephant tusks abandoned in Hwange National Park as, poachers flee game rangers

Police in Matabeleland North working in conjunction with the Parks and Wildlife Management Authority have launched a manhunt for six suspected poachers who fled after being found in possession of 22 elephant tusks last Saturday. Matabeleland North police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Siphiwe Makonese yesterday said the six suspects were cornered by two game rangers at Robins Camp in Hwange, but fled, leaving their loot at the scene. On May 19 at about 7pm, two game scouts patrolling at Robins Camp in Hwange saw six armed poachers, she said. The two scouts who were armed with AK rifles opened fire at the poachers resulting in an exchange of gunfire. Makonese said the poachers, believed to be armed with .375 and AK rifles, fled the scene firing at the scouts and running along the security road towards Zambezi River, Kazungula, in the north-western direction. The poachers left 11 pairs of elephant tusks, foodstuffs and clothing, she said. The police and rangers from Sinamatela and Main Camp have been deployed to look for carcasses in the national park area and also locate the poachers. Makonese said police would intensify patrols in the area until July. Source: Newsday

Six elephants tusks recovered, Zambian poacher shot dead in Zim

Rangers at Marongora Field Station in Mashonaland West Province shot and killed a suspected Zambian national following heavy exchange of gunfire leading to the recovery of at least six elephant tusks in the Hurungwe Safari Area. Preliminary indications based on an identity card found on the scene show that one of the men carried a United National Independence Party identity card bearing the name Peter Kakwenya and National Registration number 383158/11/1 believed to be from Zambia. It could not be established at the time of writing if the identity card belonged to the deceased or one of the men who escaped. Four of the deceased’s accomplices escaped when rangers who were on an operation to monitor hunting activities in the Hurungwe Safari Area made a follow-up after hearing three gunshots. Mashonaland West police spokesperson Inspector Clemence Mabweazara confirmed the incident, adding that investigations were still in progress. “Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority rangers deployed to monitor hunting activities in the Hurungwe Safari Area heard three gunshots which they followed up leading to an encounter with five suspected poachers,” he said. During the patrol, the rangers picked up a spoor which they trailed until they had an encounter with the five men with one of them armed with an AK-47 rifle. The rangers opened fire and the poachers shot back, resulting in one of the poachers being shot while the other four disappeared into the nearby thicket. None of the rangers was injured in the exchange, while the man killed was taken to Kariba District Hospital mortuary for post-mortem. This comes barely a week after three people were arrested at a roadblock in Kariba and found with two elephant tusks weighing 28,46kg worth about US$7 115.

The three locals from Harare are being charged with contravening sections of the Parks and Wildlife Authority Act. Source: Nehanda Radio

Two elephants killed in Zimbabwe's Gonarezhou National Park

FIVE suspected poachers were last week arrested for killing two elephants in Gonarezhou National Park. Police recovered four tusks, a 303 rifle, axes and knives. Border Control and Minerals Unit spokesperson Detective Inspector Shelter Rufu, confirmed the arrest of Darlington Tafireyi (22), Albert Bandira (22), Costa Mashumba (22), Clever Sifana (22) and Saudy Bandina (38). Inspector Rufu said the suspects, all from Gokwe, were being held in custody and will be charged for breaching the Parks and Wildlife Act. She said on May 3 the suspects went to the country's second largest national park and shot two elephants. They allegedly removed the tusks and buried the carcasses. However, they were tracked and apprehended by Parks and Wildlife rangers and officers from the Border Control Unit. Insp Rufu said the five were expected to appear in court this week. Late last year, 10 elephants were killed and also had their tusks removed at Gonarezhou, which is part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park. Wildlife experts who examined the carcasses concluded that well-oiled international poaching syndicates were behind the decimation of wildlife. Like the rhino, elephants remain endangered species in Zimbabwe as their horns have a ready and lucrative market in Asian countries and in the Middle East.It is reported that poachers move rhino horns through South Africa to markets in China and Vietnam. The horns are said to be used for cancer treatment in Asian nations. Source: Newsday(Zimbabwe)

African Environmental Police: Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force critical appeal f...

African Environmental Police: Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force critical appeal f...: ZCTF Critical crane appeal 17th May 2012 CRITICALLY URGENT CRANE APPEAL This is a very urgent appeal for help. The ZCTF are in desperate n...

Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force critical appeal for crane

ZCTF Critical crane appeal 17th May 2012 CRITICALLY URGENT CRANE APPEAL This is a very urgent appeal for help. The ZCTF are in desperate need of donations to try and raise funds for a Bonfiglioli truck mounted crane capable of lifting 16 tons. We have located a second hand crane, which will cost us £20 000 to have fitted to our truck. This is including the PTO pump, which is needed to operate the crane. BUSH-BASH (Rocking For Wildlife!) We would like to draw your attention to a musical event called Bush-Bash (Rocking For Wildlife!) on Saturday 26th May 2012. This event is being held, in aid of the ZCTF, to help towards raising some funds for the crane. If you are in or around the London or Surrey area and are looking for something to do, please come along to the event, to support this cause, and help us raise some funds. You can find out more about Bush-Bash and get tickets online from: www.bush-bash.com WHY WE NEED THE CRANE The ZCTF often have to take truck loads of food out to starving animals and a lot of our invaluable time is wasted while we are trying to raise funds, or trying to find someone to donate the use of a truck. The time wasted sadly results in animals dying. Thanks to an international donor, we have been fortunate enough to purchase a truck (images below), but we desperately need a crane to load and offload it. It is often very difficult and expensive to find people who can help with loading and offloading, so a crane would save us a lot of money, time, and most importantly, save animal's lives, in the long run. The ZCTF also do game relocations and we have the same problem with loading animals onto the truck. With a crane, it would be a simple matter of putting the animals into a container, and then loading the container onto the truck with a crane - the same again with offloading. At the moment, we are unable to use the truck for game relocations because it is impossible to lift a container onto the truck without a crane.Many animals are dying unnecessarily, so we are asking you, members of the public to please come forward and help the ZCTF at this critical time. Make a donation today. Any amount, no matter how big or small, will be very gratefully received. Johnny Rodrigues Chairman for Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force Landline: 263 4 339065 Mobile: 263 712 603 213 Email: galorand@mweb.co.zw Website: www.zctfofficialsite.org Johnny Rodrigues Chairman for Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force Landline: 263 4 339065 Mobile: 263 712 603 213 Email: galorand@mweb.co.zw Website: www.zctfofficialsite.org

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INTERNATIONAL POACHING SYNDICATES INVOLVED IN PLUNDERING ZIM WILDLIFE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dawie Groenewald was not the only South African, neither was he the only foreigner involved in plundering Zimbabwe's wildlife heritage at the height of the lwalessness that resulted from the country chaotic implementation of its so-called 'land reform' programme. The following also caught the attention of wildlife crimes investigators. I followed their trails... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE SOUTH AFRICANS The OAAS was not the only South African outfit involved in plundering Zimbabwe's rhino heritage. As I continued probing the depths of the poaching crisis that has plagued the Gwayi Valley Conservancy, Hwange National Park and the Matetsi Safari areas since February 2000, it emerged that the chaos created by Zanu PF's farm invasions turned vast areas of previously safe animal sanctuaries into wastelands of plunder where the hunting seasons never ended. Among them were foreigners and locals ranging from government and church ministers to ordinary rogues among the national parks service's own rangers. The Gwayi Conservancy Hunting Report of 2003 sheds detailed light on the poaching activities of South African brothers Piet and Hendrik Uys, listed as directors of Northern Weapons which also trades in Afrikaans as 'Noordlike Wapens' out of Louis Trichadt in the Northern Province. They are alleged to have conducted extensive illegal hunts in the Gwayi Conservancy throughout 2003. The Uys brothers are alleged to be the owners of three Toyota Landcruiser trucks with registration numbers NWZ 918 GP, FBD 185 N and DPK 173 N: "These characters were very active through out the year within the Gwayi Valley Conservancy, mainly concentrating on Gwayi Ranch , Hankano Ranch , Lot 1 of Dete Valley, Railway Farms 35 & 36 and Chimwara Ranch.They were hunting indiscriminately, shooting young animals, females etc." "In the course of the year, Gwayi Valley Conservancy members also questioned illegal hunters on their farms. The names of those South African hunters include Andre De Jaager who was caught poaching while driving a blue Landrover Vehicle registration number DMT 498 GP and one R M Saunders, believed to be of Jack Rand, Alberton in Johannesburg who claimed to have been brought into the country by Elephant Eye Safaris. The above were seen in the company of three American hunters and De Jaager shot and wounded a buffalo on Sotani Ranch.At that time De Jaager was staying at the Lodge on Chamankanu Ranch. He was also seen hunting on Lugo Ranch (owned by Vice-President John Nkomo) and Skukungwa farms. He has been arrested twice for hunting illegally on Skukungwa Ranch," reads part of the report. South African national Mark Sparrow of Fair Chase Safaris in Polokwane, old Zimbabwean vehicle registration number 587 150F, was also reported to have conducted extensive illegal hunts. "Sparrow has been hunting on Hankano Ranch and Lot 1 of Dete Valley. He has already made offers to property owners from Masuna. This desire to purchase land is not illegal, but is an indication of his presence in the area. He is involved with the Uys brothers of Northern Weapons, Louis Trichadt," the report says. It also sheds light on the activities of Henry F. Neil, describing him as a 'controversial Cape Town clergyman' and 'a story worth following.' "Henry. F. Nel is a minister in the Rock of Africa Christian mission in Cape Town. He apparently would not allow any blacks into his church there, but is quite happy to form illicit liaisons with black Zimbabweans. He is apparently assisting a school in the Gwaai area to justify his position there. He has been working out of Kalambeza Lodge which is situated on Umkombo Ranch within the Gwayi Valley Conservancy." "Further, this character is known to the Gwayi Valley Conservancy for the destruction and decemation of the natural resources and wildlife on two certain pieces of land known as Carl Lisa and Bindonvale which he was leasing. He was the first person in the Gwayi Valley Conservancy to receive an order to stop all activities , including hunting operations ,chopping of trees and general destruction of fauna and flora on his land." OTHER FOREIGNERS AND THEIR LOCAL CONNENCTIONS French national Jerome Sefridi, the director of Indaba Safaris of Number 10 Anthony Potts Road, Fortunes Gate in Bulawayo is also listed as having brought dozens of hunters from France to hunt illegally in the Gwayi Conservancy between 2002 and 2003. "Sefridi is a French national resident in Zimbabwe. He has been selling hunts to the French hunting community. He hunted extensively within the Gwayi Valley Conservancy, concentrating his illegal activities to Lot 1 , 2 , 3A of Dete Valley, Goodluck Ranch, Sikumi Estates, Chimwara Ranch, Gwayi Ranch and Hankano Ranches. He drives and hunts in a green Mitsubishi jeep registration number 797-699 F." Mines and Mining Development Minister Obert Mpofu is also reported to have played a key role in the poaching crisis that still dogs the Gwayi Conservancy. The report says he acquired Lots 40 and 41 of the Railway Block farm which includes an Intensive Conservation Area specially reserved for the safe breeding of the prestigious Presidential Herd of elephants around September 2003. It describes the plunder that follows: "Lot 41 and Stand Land (Lot 40) have been taken over by Obert Mpofu (then Governor for Matabeleland North province). He has managed to acquire hunting permits from National Parks, authorizing him to conduct hunting safaris in these areas which are photographic areas only. Although there have been reports recently that National Parks have put a ban on hunting in this area (Hwange Estate home of the Presidential Elephants), hunting vehicles are still operating here." A safari company linked to Thandiwe Nkomo, the daughter of the late Vice-President Joshua Nkomo is reported to have conducted extensive illegal hunts on Railway Farm 31 ,Railway Farm 37 and Lot 1 of Dete Valley from October 2003 and was still hunting in the same concession areas in the first quarter of 2004. Lalapanzi Safaris, which is owned by one Brigadier Ben Matiwaza and his relative Zeph Matiwaza (who owned Zambezi Milling Company at the time) also employed professional hunters Jed Moyo and Gary Hopkins to conduct illegal hunts in the Gwayi Valley Conservacy. "This company was operating illegally with-in the Gwayi Valley Conservancy concentrating their operations on Antionette Ranch , Railway Farm 35 and 31 ,Goodluck Ranch and Chimwara Ranch." Investigations also linked to the illegal activities of Dingwall Safaris, a company owned by American national Don Bouwer. Investigations have also revealed that Moyo is the husband of Sunny Moyo, the ex-warden at Hwange National Park's Main Camp who was in 2003 linked to a scam in which vast acres of indigenous forests were illegally cut and carted out of a section in the southern side of Hwange National Park. Logging is not allowed anywhere inside the parks areas. Investigations also revealed that Ivory Safaris, also trading as Ivory Lodge, which is situated in the Sikumi Forest zone of the Hwange National Park employed a Zimbabwean professional hunter guide to help its foreign clients in conducting illegal hunts in and around the Sikumi Forest area. "This company employed Bagman Chauke, P.H.Licence No: 6092 B as a professional guide or camp manager who is supposed to take photographic clients on safari drives for Ivory Lodge. He allows foreign hunters to stay and hunt out of this lodge under his guidance." In mid-2003, poaching investigators in the Gwayi Valley area witnessed an increase in the number of safari companies which were using forged hunting permits and inflating the number of animals allocated in legal quotas. One such company was Dream Merchant Safaris, which the 2003 hunting report describes as follows: "This company was using Zengela's Safaris(Chamankanu Farm) operator’s license (number 0008) without the farm owner’s permission and on their prehunts forms have put the name Ugere-bho (Pvt) Ltd. National Parks signed a blank pre-hunt form for their activities and on another quota application the company Dream Merchant Safaris, Box 56 Dete, was used, but gave no client information and it does not state what farm the hunt was to take place on. They also had a blank pre-hunt form for a hippo." As investigators, we failed to establish the identity of one Evans Mukanza, who was overhead by poaching investigators telling foreign hunters that he can supply live buffaloes and elephants from Sinamatela Camp, which is deep inside the Hwange National Park. Poaching detectives also observed the illegal hunting activities of former and serving national parks staffers Mark Rusell, who was by then the senior ranger at Sinamatela Camp, former parks employees Headman Sibanda, Bagman Chauke and ex-parks pilot Albert Paradzai. The surveillance log also observes that Rusell was on several occassions seen driving a National Parks vehicle loaded with fuel drums from his base in Sinamatela into Goodluck Farm where poaching was at its height. It also observes several liaisons he spent most of August 2003 entertaining South African hunters and helping them conduct illegal hunts. The report also notes the illegal operations of professional hunters Bagman Chauke PH Licenec No.6092B, Dellerman PH Licence No. 5874B, Thulani Dube PH Licence No. 6096B, Guy Venter PH licence no. 5919B, Phil Palmer, PH licence no. 5801B, one Ndlovu PH licence no. 6070B, one Chimiaza PH licence no. 6064B, and a B Jolliffe with PH licence no. 5920B. They were all employed by Nyati Safaris and were seen by poaching watchers on many occassions guiding illegal foreign hunters, most of whom were Americans, in the black rhino zones of the Gwayi Valley Conserrvancy and Woodlands Estate in the Matetsi Five concession area. The report also linked the upsurge in poaching through the use of snares in the Gwayi Valley to the Zanu PF-aligned National Youth militias who were running an intensive training programme at Kamativi Mine near Hwange. "On August 3, 2003, 18 impala carcasses were seen on Sikumi Estate. Apparently, half were for sale and half were for the youth militia camp in Kamativi. Around the same time, 17 buffalo and 2 sable were found in a snare line. Two eland cows and a kudu were snared two days after the departure of the evicted farm owner at Sotani Ranch. Due to the lack of water in the area, it has become common practice to put snare lines around the few remaining water holes. 600 snares were removed from one water hole in one day." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----Re-posted for the benefit of all anti-poaching activists across the world. I am responsible for all mistakes, factual or otherwise, in case they have been made in the report-----ON.

DAWIE GROENEWALD - BUTCHER PAR EXCELLENCE

ATT: POACHERS ONE REF: H-R-U-N-I-V-A-L-D --- DAWIEGROENEWALD LOG: DG.SA.LP.11.07 SCRIPT: PCHNG NAT: SOUTH AFRICAN DES:0000 KBV6616HW.GW.MT Any search around the name of South African national Dawie Groenewald would be incomplete if it does not state that he is a former member of the South African Police Services (SAPS) who was dishonourably discharged following an internal probe which found him guilty of selling stolen cars straight out of the recovered vehicle pound back to criminals and unsuspecting citizens. It is also known publicly that Groenewald is the principal director of Out of Africa Adventurous Safaris, a hunting outfit operating out of Old Days, a small outpost located about 100km from the border town of Musina. The company is also registered in the same name at Overland Park in the United States county of Kansas. OAS, which also operates in Botswana, Kenya, Tanzania and has a European business representative based in Paris, France, trades as Adventurous Safaris on the world wide web offering safari hunts in the listed African countries. But that is all there is to be known without burrowing deeper into the operations of the 43 year-old Groenewald, the man arrested in October last year by the South African Police Hawks special investigations unit on allegations of being the mastermind behind what has come to be known as the Musina Mafia, an outfit which could turn out to be Africa's biggest rhino, elephant and lion poaching syndicate if proven to have existed. Eleven members of the "Musina Mafia", led by Groenewald, his 35 year-old American born wife Sariette, professional hunter Tielman Erasmus, veterinarians Karel Toets, Manie du Pleiss and Marissa Toet who were arrested last year for running a sophisticated rhino poaching syndicate were early this month remanded to September when they appeared in court to face charges of poaching, illegal gun posession and other associated crimes in the border town of Musina.The busting of the syndicate uplifted the spirits of South African conservation farmers and animal rights activists who have reasons to believe it was behind sophisticated poaching raids that killed even those rhinos deemed to be in the safest of the country's animal sanctuaries. However, an investigation conducted over the last two months by the Daily News reveals a paper trail of the Groenewald operations that leads into Zimbabwe and exposes how he used his links with top ZANU PF officials in the murky safari hunting business to take full advantage of the utter chaos created by President Robert Mugabe's fast track land reform to carry out illegal rhino, elephant and lions hunts while earning even more illicit dollars from inflating the number of hunts on his legally acquired qoutas. That was until the Parks and Wildlife Management Authority noticed his activities banned him from operating in the country, first in mid 2003 and finally in September 2004. On the contrary, evidence gathered by the Daily News shows the ban did not stop Out of Africa Safaris and its international agents from conducting business in Zimbabwe until 2006, shortly before Groenewald was suspended from the South African Professional Hunters Association for conducting illegal hunts and abusing legally acquired hunting quotas. From its base on 7930 W 155th Terrace, Overland Parks, Kansas 66223 in the US, OAAS has over the years been able to attract scores of American hunters into the six southern African countries that still have rhino, elephant and lion territory - South Africa, Botswana, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Information available suggests that OAAS came to the notice of Zimbabwean animal rights activists in 2003 when 250 bateleur eagles were exported to a falcon-breeder Sheikh in United Arab Emirates, the Middle East's equivalent of the proverbial island plenty in a sea of grinding poverty. According to a March 2003 report posted on wildlife website Africa Indaba, the international concern at the sale rose because it was allegedly done thorugh a deal facilitated by ZANU PF-linked Eddy Kadzombe whose safari hunting business E.K Safaris trades out of Number 30 Golden Stairs Avenue in the plush surbub of Avondale in Harare. At that time it was known that EK Safaris was the Zimbabwe partner for OAAS and operated in many parts of the Gwayi Valley Conservancy and around the Sinamatela and Matetsi Five concessions near Victoria Falls where the company is also alleged to have facilitated the sale and translocation of 160 sables from a private conservancy in the Chinhoyi area to South Africa, allegedly with the help of Vitalis Chadenga, then acting director in the Parks and Wildlife Management Authority. The South African Professional Hunters Association suspected the OAAS, using its proximity to Zimbabwe, of facilitating the illegal deal which latter turned sour and became public when Eddy Kadzombe, his South African buyer and the legal owner of the sable fought a court battle over the non-payment of money involved in the deal. Reporting on the court battle, South African newspaper Business Day said the average cost of a live sable in the SA market at that time was R4000, which placed the total cost of the animals involved at R93 000. At the height of the international outcry over poaching in Zimbabwe in 2003, animal rights activists started expressing concern that the rhino and elephant poaching crisis was being fuelled by unscrupulous foreign safari operators in collusion with government ministers, wildlife management officers, elements of the security forces and ZANU PF henchmen who had invaded the farms. But the identities were to come in January 2003 when 'well-organised' poachers slaughtered four black rhinos at Sinamatela camp. Officially, no one was arrested for the offence but information supplied by national parks investigative sources suggests that while the concession on which the animals were shot was legally under EK Safaris, it was a group of American hunters brought illegally into the country, by the OAAS and allowed to operate through collusion with EK Safaris who had carried out the massacre and left it with the hallmarks of a poaching scene. The investigation also revealed that OAAS, with the help of Zimbabwean partners EK Safaris and Inyathi Hunters, a company jointly-owned by former Matabeleland North governor and ZANU PF provincial chairman Jacob Mudenda and Enio Di Palmer (who owns Bulawayo-based steel-manufacturing firm Steelforce), used their American representative Richard Putman of Seminole Safaris in the US state of Alabama to lure hundreds of American hunters to conduct illegal hunts in the Gwayi Valley Conservancy, Hwange National Park and the Matetsi Five Intensive Conserrvation Areas between 2003 and 2005. In Zimbabwe, OAAS used its hunters-co-directors Nick Van Rensburg and Glen Van Rensburg were assisted by EK Safaris and Zimbabwean professional hunters Albert Paradzai, PH licence number 6016 B, described as a fomer pilot with the Parks and Wildlife Authority, Dawie Van Der Westhuizen PH licence no. 5957 B, who was then listed as a farmer in Karoi and Chris Chitsa, professional PH licence number 5780B. Between 2003 and 2005, conservationists records on the tracking of vehicles which were seen driving into and out of poaching hot-spots created a consistent log on which nine Toyota Landcruiser vehicles fitted with registration numbers DDM 850 N, DWF 519 N, FFC 217 N, MWF 519, DDM 865 N, FBG 847 N, FBT 052 N, FBR 649 N and FBJ 847 N. The letter N shows that all the vehicles were registered in the Northern Province. "These companies, professional hunters and motor vehicles were hunting within the Gwayi Valley Conservancy where they were mainly concentrating their illegal operations on Goodluck Ranch ,Chimwara Ranch , Railway Farm 35 and Sekumi Estates and Railway Farm 31," reads part of the summary of the 2003 Gwayi Valley Conservancy Hunting Report. The report also notes the illegal operations of professional hunters Bagman Chauke PH Licenec No.6092B, Dellerman PH Licence No. 5874B, Thulani Dube PH Licence No. 6096B, Guy Venter PH licence no. 5919B, Phil Palmer, PH licence no. 5801B, one Ndlovu PH licence no. 6070B, one Chimiaza PH licence no. 6064B, and a B Jolliffe with PH licence no. 5920B. They were all employed by Nyati Safaris and were seen by poaching watchers on many occassions guiding illegal foreign hunters, most of whom were Americans, in the black rhino zones of the Gwayi Valley Conserrvancy and Woodlands Estate in the Matetsi Five concession area. The report also reveals that the endless chain of American hunters who were guests of Nyati Hunters, came through the OAAS which got them through Nyati Safaris American agents Dick and Mary Cabella of Cabelas Outdoor Adventures, a company listed as operating out of Number 1, Cabela Drive, Sidney in Nebraska, USA. As evidence gathered shows, OAAS moved out of the Gwayi Conservancy in early 2003 after being banned for carrying out illegal hunts but still used their Zimbabwean connections to set up another operations based in the resort town of Victoria Falls to continue operations until the final ban in September 2004. The trail began again in June 2003 when a tracking collar taken off a lionese that was shot illegally was found in the homestead of Lot 2 Dete Valley Farm during the stay of a group of hunters from Hwange Safari Lodge, some of whom were from OAAS. A 2003 national parks investigations surveillance log obtained by Daily News from parks intelligence observed that on July 24, 2003, three South African landcruisers which had their number plates removed arrived with six white passengers in the Gwayi Conservancy areas and an occupant of one the vehicles was reportedly seen bribing officials at the veterinary road block before driving into Goodluck Farm where illegal hunting blinds were latter discovered to have been built around animal watering points. "On 2 September 2003 four Americans were seen arriving in Victoria Falls. They were collected by a South African operator who turned out to be OAAS and were overheard saying they wanted to shoot as much as possible. On 4 September, a white landrover, vehicle registration FBT052N and belonging to Out of Africa Safaris was seen dropping zebra meat at the PTC (now Tel One) offices in Vic Falls although public vehicles are not permitted into this area," reads part of the parks investigations report. As the watch on OAAS operations continued, undercover investigators witnessed the arrival of two Landrover twin-cab vehicles, registration numbers FBG 847 N and FBR 649 N with two American clients in Bulawayo on 15 September 2003 but the investigators lost track of the vehicles and were unable to determine where they went until they re-appeared in Hwange National Park where they allegedly operated for the whole month. The log also states that on 25 September 2003, two vehicles from OAAS , a white Landrover twin-cab with registration number DWF 519 N and a green Toyota Landcruiser double-cab with registration number DDM 865N were seen in Victoria Falls filled with American hunters. The log also submits that OAAS remained active in the national parks as confirmed by the multiple sighting of three OAAS vehicles with registration numbers FBG 848N, DWF 519N and FBG 847N between 30 September 2003 and 16 October 2003 around Bulawayo, Victoria Falls, Hwange National Park and Half Way Hotel inside the Gwayi Conservancy loaded with clients who told undercover investigators they were from America and South Africa. Based on these and other surveillance findings, the Parks and Wildlife Management Authority wrote OAAS the final notice of expulsion from Zimbabwe in early 2005. "We refer to our letter dated September 24 and signed by Director General Morris Mtsambiwa and we wish to further clarify the letter and its effect on Out Africa Adventurous Safaris. Please be advised that in terms of the Parks and Wildlife Act Chapter 20:14, OAAS is not allowed to operate as a safari operator conducting any hunting nor safari operations in the whole country of Zimbabwe. Our previous letter cited the Gwayi Intensive Conservation Area which was then known to be the operational area of OAAS. However, the company and all its staff are not allowed to conduct any business without the requisite licences and, or permits from the appropriate authorities in Zimbabwe in terms of the laws and regulations of the country," reads the main body of the final parks authority letter. Zimbabwe Conservation Taskforce chairman Johnny Rodrigues said the trial of the Musina Mafia remains an issue of interest to Zimbabwean consrvationists who believe it will help lift the heavy lid on the politically connected rhino and elephant poaching syndicates which are still ravaging the parks. "OAAS left a big footprint of their illegal operations in Zimbabwe. They were very much behind the decimation of not just elephant and rhino, but the zebra population in the sanctuaries around West Nicholson in Gwanda has been decimated for hides. Our understanding is that most of these poachers take the skins to the OAAS taxidermist factory in Old Days where they are tanned and prepared for export to Europe while elephant and rhino products are sent on to the Vietnamese and Chinese syndicates which finance this carnage. We will be very happy to meet the Hawks and tell them what we know about OAAS and many other unscrupulous South Africans who got their riches from plundering the wildlife heritage of this country," Rodrigues said. The country's rhino and elephant continue to fall prey to poaching syndicates, some internally organised where rogue elements of the security forces have been found to be involved. ----------- ends - This article was published exactly one year ago in The Daily News, a Zim newspaper. I reproduce it here for the benefit of all rhinos and rhino lovers who wish to gain more insight into the operations of Dawie Groenewald. Gruesome news but unavoidable all the same.