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REPORTS that fresh poaching activities are underway at the Hwange National Park require Government to act as a matter of urgency to prevent an ecological catastrophe. Recently the Government established a ministerial taskforce to probe the rampant elephant poaching at the Hwange National Park.
Defence Minister Dr Sydney Sekeramayi who is part of the ministerial taskforce recently said if it meant deploying soldiers to help the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority to curb poaching activities in our national parks, Government was ready to do so.
Dr Sekeramayi was speaking during a recent tour by the ministerial taskforce of the Hwange National Park.
According to the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority senior officials, fresh poaching activities have been detected at Chezhou area in Hwange District under Chief Nekatambe.
At least 11 elephants and vultures have succumbed to cyanide poisoning. This brings to 106 the number of elephants that have been killed so far since the discovery of the poaching activities in which perpetrators use cyanide poison.
Two suspects have since been arrested in connection with the new cases of poaching. The latest cases show that the poachers have moved to the other side of the Hwange National Park after realising that their activities had been detected.
The poachers are obviously taking advantage of the incapacitation of the Parks and Wildlife Management Authority to adequately patrol the national parks.
We feel that the other arms of the security forces should be engaged to help the parks authorities.
Awareness campaigns must also be undertaken to educate villagers living in areas bordering the national parks to be on the lookout for suspects bent on poaching our wildlife.
Villagers must also be constantly reminded that it is a serious offence to connive with poachers to kill animals.
It should also be impressed upon the villagers that it is not an excuse to kill animals because they have invaded their territory. Communities must be taught to report any stray wild animals in their areas to the relevant authorities.
The Parks and Wildlife Management Authority should always be on high alert to respond expeditiously to calls by communities to capture stray wild animals and take them back to the game parks.
The poaching activities are a threat to both our environment and the tourism sector hence the need to thoroughly deal with the matter.
Government should deal sternly with poaching because it threatens to extinct our wild animals. The poachers are getting sophisticated and the fact that even sophisticated people such as medical doctors are being arrested in cases of suspected poaching shows the crime is quite lucrative.
In Tsholotsho villagers admitted that they poisoned elephants using cyanide and some of them still had the chemical. They said they were working with syndicates who were buying the elephant tusks.
This calls for intensification of anti-poaching activities with close co-operation between the Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, police and other security organs.
We welcome the revelation by the police deputy officer commanding Matabeleland North Assistant Commissioner Musarashana Mabunda that they have intensified the ongoing anti-poaching operation.
We urge the authorities to get to the root of the matter and poaching of game in general.
Government’s quick reaction shows the seriousness with which it views poaching but more needs to be done.
Online Reporter