Wednesday, 31 August 2016

Tanzania: US military trains 50 game scouts in Rungwa Game Reserve

A total of 50 Tanzanian game scouts are benefiting from  training by US military experts to increase their ability to combat wildlife poaching and trafficking in Rungwa Game Reserve in Tanzania. This will also help the wildlife of Ruaha National park which is contiguous with Rungwa.

The training is being conducted the US Army Africa Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa and the North Carolina National Guard Special Forces.

During the training session between July 25 and September 9 the game scouts are being trained in surveillance and patrol techniques, arrest and detention procedures, search and seizure, crime scene investigation, first aid, human rights and rules of engagement.

This program is one part of a major effort by the US Government and other partners to protect the elephant and wildlife corridor between Rungwa and Katavi, thus conserving a critical link between the Ruaha- Rungwa and Katavi ecosystems.

The US Agency for International Development (USAID), in partnership with WCS, is supporting the $8.5-million five-year Southern Highlands and Ruaha-Katavi Protection Program (SHARPP).

Ruaha-Rungwa has been the subject of massive amounts of elephant poaching in the last few years with the population dropping from 35500 in 2006 to around 15000 or less in 2015.

Monday, 1 August 2016

Thousands of poachers snares removed in one park

Just to highlight the severity of the problem of  illegal killing of wildlife for bushmeat let me give some figures.


One year ago today the Management of Liwonde National Park in Malawi was taken over by African Parks.

Bear in mind that this was already Malawi's flagship park and you might have expected it to have received some protection.

Since taking over they have removed  over 40 gin traps and over 16000 snares.

That's in one park in one year. Imagine the amount of animal suffering that has been averted. But then think of all the other places in Africa where this is going on, both inside and outside protected areas, and you can see what a massive problem it is.

No wonder lions and leopards resort to cattle raiding. In many areas their prey species are being wiped out.