Wildlife body intensifies anti-poaching efforts

Parks and Wildlife Management Authority says it recovered 135 rifles and 2 694 rounds of ammunition in the last four years as it steps up efforts to fight poaching and illegal wildlife trade in the country.

The authority has also recorded a decrease in poaching incidents per year since 2011 in which 223 elephants were killed compared to 139 killed this year.

During the period under review, a total of 867 elephants were killed by both commercial and subsistence poachers.

Delivering a presentation on poaching and illegal wildlife trade in Zimbabwe during a media tour at Hwange National Park, Regional Manager for the authority, Mr Arthur Musakwa said the number of local poachers killed increased from 6 in 2011 to 9 this year, while foreign poachers killed decreased from 6 in 2011 to 3 this year.

He said while every effort is being made to deal with all cases of poaching, there is need to provide more field equipment to anti-poaching rangers operating in intensive protection zones as poachers are continuously changing to new sophisticated methods.

The Parks and Wildlife Management Authority is currently engaging the Attorney General and Chief Magistrate's Office for wildlife cases to be expeditiously tried and finalised.

The dialogue comes amid calls by stakeholders to impose stiffer penalties on all cases of poaching.

In this regard, illegal possession of ivory and rhino horn now attracts a minimum mandatory sentence of 9 years in terms of the General Law Amendment Number 97 of 2010, while administering poisonous substances to the environment such as cyanide attracts a jail sentence of a minimum of 5 years.