22 poachers shot dead

Since adopting a shoot-to-kill policy in 2019, Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) rangers have encountered 111 shoot-outs with poachers, resulting in the deaths of 22 poachers.

Tinashe Farawo, the spokesperson for ZimParks, revealed these figures in an interview, noting that 4,000 suspects were arrested during the same period, including 152 foreigners.

Farawo highlighted that ZimParks also confiscated 94 rifles and 669 rounds of ammunition from poachers over the years. The highest number of armed confrontations occurred in 2019, with 56 incidents recorded, and the highest number of rifle recoveries in 2020, totaling 23 rifles.

In 2024 alone, ZimParks has already recovered eight rifles and ten rounds of ammunition.