FIVE poachers were gunned down by Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks) rangers in 10 incidents of armed confrontation in national parks this year amid an intensifying crackdown on poaching by authorities.
Poaching activities declined significantly this year,
thanks to the introduction of new anti-poaching strategies that include
deployment of high-tech drones to monitor conservancies, retraining of rangers
and the introduction of a shoot-to-kill policy.
According to statistics from Zimparks, 20 elephants were
killed by poachers this year, down from 30 killings recorded last year. Only
eight rhinos were killed this year, down from 29 in 2019. Four lions were poached
this year matching the same number of predators that were killed last year.
Zimparks spokesperson Mr Tinashe Farawo told The Sunday
Mail that introduction of the shoot-to-kill policy has deterred illegal
incursions into conservancy areas.
“Twenty elephants were poached this year, marking a
significant decrease from the 30 that were killed in 2019,” said Mr Farawo.
“We have had 10 armed contacts with poachers this year,
with five of them leading to fatalities. If you look at it, five years ago we
would have about 500 elephants poached in a year but with the introduction of
new strategies by management, we are bringing the numbers down.
He said rangers had intensified patrols after Zimparks
acquired more vehicles.
“We are also working with the International Fund for Animal
Welfare to help with protecting elephants especially in the Hwange National
Park and also other partners to fight poaching.
“Before the new management came in there were a lot of
constraints especially in terms of vehicles but now we have managed to procure
over 100 vehicles for patrolling and tracking and this has helped us become
more visible around the protected areas. We are now also harnessing technology
by deploying drones and this helps us in monitoring wildlife and the protected
areas. We are now able to detect intruders early and this has really helped to
curb poaching.”
He said the Judiciary handed down tough sentences on
poachers and this has helped deter would-be offenders. Sunday Mail
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