Poacher in DRC gets 30 years

 

Authorities in Republic of the Congo have put a notorious poacher behind bars for 30 years for the attempted murder of park rangers and ivory trafficking, according to a wildlife conservation group.

Mobanza Mobembo Gerard, commonly known as Guyvanho, is thought to have killed more than 500 elephants since 2008 during poaching expeditions, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) said.

"This unprecedented conviction in the criminal court is a major milestone in the protection of wildlife in the Republic of Congo," said Emma Stokes, WCS director for Central Africa.

Deliberate fires started at Tsavo West

The Kenya government is in a race to end national park fires following several cases that have put wildlife and vegetation at risk of being wiped out.

Fires broke out at Tsavo West National Park, Mgeno and Lumo conservancies on Saturday night. Tsavo West has been a grazing ground for illegal herders who sneak in their livestock in search of water and pasture.

Recently, KWS said the fires were caused by locals living adjacent to the park.

Teams from government agencies and non-governmental wildlife organisations as well as residents joined Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) firefighters in putting out the fires.

Elephants almost extinct in Nigeria

 

Andrew Dunn, Country Director of Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in Nigeria, says elephants are almost becoming extinct in Nigeria.

Mr Dunn made the disclosure in an interview with journalists in Calabar while commemorating the World Elephant Day.

The World Elephant Day is an international annual event marked on August 12, dedicated to the preservation and protection of the world's elephant population.

He said that the number of elephants in the country had continued to dwindle at a frightening pace following negative human activities.

He further appealed that all hands should be on deck to prevent the total extinction of elephants, adding that it was worrisome that Nigeria was a leading source of elephant tusks sale worldwide up till last year.

"The international ivory trade which is a major cause of the extinction of elephants is still booming in Nigeria, particularly in Lagos.

"Poachers are daily going after the tusks of the elephants to enrich the sale of ivory in foreign markets.

"There are less than 500 elephants remaining in Nigeria, so we should not allow our elephants to go extinct.

"We need many more people to supports elephant conservation by regularly visiting the Cross River National Park, Yankari Games Reserve and other parks in the country where some of these animals are," he said.

Tanzania hands out 100 year+ prison sentences to poachers

 

Manyoni District Court has sentenced five poachers to jail terms ranging between 60 and 180 years for their role in poaching activities within Chamwino District, Dodoma City and Manyoni District in Singida Region.

They are Jonathan Joseph, alias Baraka Mlungushi, who was jailed 180 years, Noah Sajilo, Shukran Nyang'a alias Patrick and Hassan Juma, alias Mpembee Mjendwa, who were each sentenced to 100 years imprisonment and Gabriel Akyoo, who was jailed a total of 60 years.

Resident Magistrate Stella Kiama imposed the sentences last week against the poachers after convicting them of the offences they were charged with.

She ruled that the prosecution, led by State Attorneys Salim Msemo, Patrida Muta and Tulumanywa Majigo, proved the charges beyond reasonable doubt.

The charges preferred by the prosecution against them included unlawful possession and dealing in government trophies, unlawful hunting of a scheduled animal, unlawful possession of weapons in certain circumstances and failure to keep safe custody of firearms.