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Ivan Zhakata
Herald Correspondent
TWO men from Hwange were fined US$200 each after they were caught in possession of meat from a giraffe.
Thulani Dube (28) and Smart Banda (42) will spend four months in prison if they fail to pay the fine.
The duo was arraigned before the Hwange Magistrates’ Court on charges of contravening the Parks and Wildlife Act, that is, removal of any animal or part of an animal from any land or from one place to another.
The court heard that on August 24, 2024, a team of rangers who were on patrol at Mtharanhaka block in Sikumi area, Dete, spotted vultures flying around, raising suspicions that there was a dead animal nearby.
They reportedly searched the area and found four legs and the lower jaw of a giraffe. The State alleged that the rangers spotted spoor and some blood stains which they tracked to Dube’s residence where dried meat from a giraffe was recovered leading to his arrest.
Dube also implicated Banda who was also arrested. According to the State the giraffe was valued at US$3 500.
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter