Namibia deploys army in crackdown as elephant poachers rampage through Caprivi

RUNDU – The Ministry of Environment and Tourism, besieged by a recent increase in elephant poaching in the Caprivi Region, has enlisted the services of the Namibian Defence Force (NDF) to track marauding poachers. James Sambi, a game warden in the Bwabwata Game Park and other reliable sources in the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, confirmed the deployment of NDF troops on a mission to capture marauding poachers. Four people have already been arrested in connection with the poaching of elephants in the Caprivi Region after they were reportedly caught with several elephant tusks that they had obtained through illegal hunting in the region, which is teeming with wildlife. Officials in the tourism ministry recently discovered 18 elephant carcasses in the north-eastern region, killed by poachers for their precious ivory, which is in high demand in Asian countries. The Caprivi Region is the only region where poaching is considered a serious problem, probably because it is straddled by four neighbouring countries. In the adjacent Kavango Region the problem has not reached crisis proportions yet. At least 13 of the elephants were killed in the Mamili National Park over the past four months. “For now the situation is not so critical, therefore there is no need to implement measures like in the Caprivi, but we can consider it if it becomes critical,” Sambi told New Era concerning the NDF deployment. Speculation is that a poaching syndicate, made up mostly of Zambian and Chinese nationals who work in cahoots with Namibians, is operating in the region. Nevertheless, Sambi says local people tend to hunt any wildlife in sight, because they do not know the endangered status of the species. “Right now there are hunting concessions for buffaloes, and hunters complain there are not enough species in the park. This is a concern because concessions are an income-generating method for the park and it helps the communities in the area,” said a worried Sambi. Joao Muyuka (38) and Johannes Shitumbo (51), two men arrested for elephant poaching, appeared in the Rundu Magistrate’s Court on four poaching-related charges last month. They are charged with being in the Bwabwata Game Park without permission, hunting protected game and being in possession of ammunition and firearms without a licence. They were caught with an AK-47 assault rifle and a 30.8 rifle. They have also been denied bail because their case involves elephant tusks. Their next court appearance will be on December 06 at Mukwe.Most of the poached ivory leaves Africa through the Indian Ocean seaports on the East African coastline, primarily from Kenya and Tanzania, going to China and Thailand, the two primary destinations for illegal ivory consignments. Neighboring South Africa is also battling with an escalation in rhino poaching, with estimates of at least one rhino killed each day. With an ivory stockpile of over 30 000 kg, Namibia was recently among countries lining up to get permission from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to sell its large ivory stockpile. Source: New Era, (Nam)

African Environmental Police: BDF arrests two Batswana, four Zimbabweans for poa...

African Environmental Police: BDF arrests two Batswana, four Zimbabweans for poa...: Members of a Botswana Defence Force anti-poaching unit shot and injured a Motswana man in the Chobe National Park three weeks ago. The man...

BDF arrests two Batswana, four Zimbabweans for poaching at Chobe National Park

Members of a Botswana Defence Force anti-poaching unit shot and injured a Motswana man in the Chobe National Park three weeks ago. The man was allegedly shot and wounded as he and four others attempted to flee after being spotted by the army unit in the park that hosts Africa's largest population of elephants in both size and concentration. The game patrol unit of the BDF was trekking down poachers who had killed an elephant hours earlier when they spotted the six-men party in the wild. When they were finally arrested, the men were allegedly found with rifles and elephant tusks. The shooting and wounding of the Motswana man happened in the same week that President Ian Khama announced an unprecedented anti-poaching measure of putting a freeze on hunting in 2014. Addressing a Kgotla meeting at Sankoyo Village on October 25, Khama said six poachers had been arrested in the Chobe National Park the previous day. "Two of them are Batswana from Satau and Mabele, while four of the men are from Zimbabwe," Khama said. In the wake of the incident, allegations have surfaced that members of the army anti-poaching unit are under instructions to shoot poachers on sight. The soldiers allegedly remove their identification tags when they go on patrol in the wild. Mmegi was still waiting for a response to these allegations from the army's public relations office at the time of going to press. Source: Mmegi (BW)

African Environmental Police: Zim politician embroiled in Save Valley Conservanc...

African Environmental Police: Zim politician embroiled in Save Valley Conservanc...: One of the ZANU PF 'beneficiaries' of conservancy land leases and hunting licences is reportedly being investigated for poaching, as the fut...

African Environmental Police: Zim politician embroiled in Save Valley Conservanc...

African Environmental Police: Zim politician embroiled in Save Valley Conservanc...: One of the ZANU PF 'beneficiaries' of conservancy land leases and hunting licences is reportedly being investigated for poaching, as the fut...

Zim politician embroiled in Save Valley Conservancy poaching scam

One of the ZANU PF 'beneficiaries' of conservancy land leases and hunting licences is reportedly being investigated for poaching, as the future of the Save Valley Conservancy remains unclear. Former ZANU PF Minister and 'war vet' Shuvai Mahofa, referred to as the Masvingo 'Iron Lady', is reportedly being investigated after a butchery she allegedly runs in Gutu was raided by police. According to a NewsDay article, three buffalo carcasses and other game meat was discovered. Mahofa was one of a group of mainly ZANU PF linked individuals who were granted a hunting licence by National Parks in August. She and the group of so-called 'indigenous farmers' were given the licences and 25 year land leases as part of the ZANU PF led indigenisation campaign. Those who were handed leases at Save Valley include war vets leader Joseph Chinotimba, Major General Gibson Mashingaidze, Major General Engelbert Rugeje, Masvingo Governor and Resident Minister Titus Maluleke, ZANU PF Masvingo provincial chairperson Lovemore Matuke, the late Higher Education Minister Stan Mudenge, Health Deputy Minister Douglas Mombeshora; ZANU PF central committee member Enock Porusingazi and ZANU PF MPs Alois Baloyi, Abraham Sithole, Samson Mukanduri and Noel Mandebvu. The group last year formed the 'Masvingo Initiative' which led a campaign of intimidation and harassment against various land owners in the province. During this campaign Mahofa seized the Savuli Ranch and this year evicted the owners and their employees. Mahofa has since given permission to some safari operators to hunt on Savuli Ranch, granting them hunting quotas according to her newly issued licence. Mahofa's brother is understood to be a known bush meat trader and sources have told SW Radio Africa that their butchery business in Gutu has been thriving ever since Mahofa was given her hunting licence. Some observers have suggested that targeting Mahofa is a result of ZANU PF infighting she has now become tangled in. The saga around the Save Valley has already pitted some members of ZANU PF against each other, with the Walter Mzembi led Tourism Ministry facing off against Environment Minister Francis Nhema. Mzembi has suggested that the licences should be withdrawn until a full investigation is done. It's understood his position is one of damage limitation ahead of the scheduled UN World Tourism Organisation conference set for Victoria Falls next year. The situation at Save Valley Conservancy has added to widespread criticism of Zimbabwe acting as the host of the international meeting. Nhema meanwhile has previously backed the handing over of the licences as a progressive move for indigenisation. He has slammed Mzembi in interviews for trying to change the situation. Both Ministers were meanwhile part of a committee set up by the ZANU PF politburo to try and calm tensions around the situation at the conservancy. The committee was asked to look into the possibility of turning the conservancy into a national park, which would effectively see the leases being withdrawn. But, since its appointment, the committee has failed to meet. Johnny Rodrigues, the chairman of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, told SW Radio Africa that withdrawal the leases and putting a moratorium on hunting was the best way to tackle the ongoing problem of poaching and illegal hunting. He said a proper audit needs to be completed to ensure hunting is controlled. He meanwhile said that plans to turn the Conservancy into a national park are part of efforts by the authorities to "hoodwink" people, into believing that the situation is under control. "They are trying to show the world that they are in control, particularly with the UN meeting happening next year. But the reality is if the situation is not brought under control, then we won't have any wildlife left," Rodrigues warned. Source: Online

African Environmental Police: Cameroon deploys Special Forces to counter poachin...

African Environmental Police: Cameroon deploys Special Forces to counter poachin...: November 2012. Cameroon has mobilized its Special Forces units in an effort to prevent Sudanese poachers from entering its territory to ...

Cameroon deploys Special Forces to counter poaching gangs

November 2012. Cameroon has mobilized its Special Forces units in an effort to prevent Sudanese poachers from entering its territory to hunt elephants for their ivory, in an operation it called "a first of its kind". WWF congratulates the Cameroonian government for taking concrete steps to address poaching and illegal wildlife trade, a lucrative criminal activity that undermines the sovereignty, security and economic prospects of the Central African region. Killed hundreds of elephants in 2012 According to information obtained by WWF, this is the same group of poachers that in early 2012 travelled more than 1,000 km on horseback from northern Sudan across the Central African Republic and Chad to kill over 300 elephants in the Bouba N'Djida National Park in northern Cameroon. This information says that the group had decided to return earlier than usual this year in order to take advantage of the greater ground cover available during the rainy season and to catch the park guards by surprise by arriving sooner than expected. Rapid Intervention Battalion On Friday, high ranking officials of the Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR), Cameroon's special forces, told WWF that the high command had as a priority "the conservation of biodiversity, including the fight against cross-border poaching." "We are committed to avoid a repeat of the elephant massacre of early 2012," a BIR official said. "We are already on the ground, we know the poachers are coming, and we have forces deployed in the reserves. "It is highly unfortunate that the military had to be called in to address this situation, but the reality is that we are dealing with well-armed and highly trained individuals, who do not hesitate to terrorize local populations to achieve their aims." "It should be noted that this is one of the top priority missions that the BIR is dealing with at this time, and the operational and logistical scale of this operation is the first of its kind," the BIR representative said. Elephants numbers down by at least 50% since 1995 High demand for ivory coupled with porous borders and weak law enforcement capacity is seriously threatening the survival of elephants in the region. Although concrete numbers are hard to come by, it is estimated that the population of elephants in the Central African region was cut in half between 1995 and 2007, with the number of elephants killed still increasing. "The elephant killings in Bouba N'Djida earlier this year put the crisis on the map. But over the past decades, poachers have already wiped elephants across large swaths of the Central African Republic," according to Bas Huijbregts, head of policy on illegal wildlife trade for WWF Central Africa. 40,000 elephants have disappeared "The elephant population in the north-eastern parts of Central African Republic, which used to number around 35,000 in the seventies, has effectively been massacred, with only some 50 individuals remaining. And in neighbouring Chad, in the Zakouma National Park, elephant populations collapsed by 90 per cent compared to the levels that were recorded in 2006, with only 450 animals left in 2011," Huijbregts explained. "This is literally the last stand of elephants in these parts of Central Africa, and the operations of the Cameroonian Special Forces are indispensable to address this crisis," Huijbregts added. Ivory trade across borders is currently banned under international law. But rising income levels and increased demand in Asia, primarily China and Thailand, is pushing ivory prices to record levels, fuelling illicit trade. "Poaching is a harmful practice on so many fronts. Besides endangering wildlife, it degrades fragile ecosystems, corrodes respect for the rule of law, and weakens national security. It threatens the livelihoods and economic growth opportunities of local communities. Any nation that turns a blind eye to poaching essentially invites transnational criminal organizations to operate freely, bringing with them a host of other related problems and tainting the country's international standing," said Greg Thorne, Chargé d'Affaires at the US Embassy in Cameroon. "The United States applauds Cameroon's announced efforts to combat and eliminate poaching. These efforts, once launched, will have numerous positive benefits, including preservation of natural patrimony, strengthening of law enforcement and border security, and reduction in crime," he said. Chad and the Central African Republic are collaborating with Cameroon to fight this poaching threat, and are currently in the process of finalizing a tri-national urgency action. WWF is campaigning for greater protection of threatened species such as rhinos, tigers and elephants. In order to save endangered animals, source, transit and demand countries must all improve law enforcement, customs controls and judicial systems.

WWF is also urging governments in consumer countries to undertake demand reduction efforts to curb the use of endangered species products. Source: Wildlife Extra