Vusumuzi Dube
Rutendo Nyeve, Sunday News Reporter
DISUSED and fallen telephone wirelines in Dete and various parts of the Hwange National Park buffer zones have disturbingly been harvested by poachers who are using them to snare animals with more than 600 snares having been recovered this year.
The sad development has seen TelOne getting support from various partners and embarking on an exercise to remove 26 tonnes of disused telephone wires that were a vital link for communication over the years in and around Hwange National Park.
A primary responder engaged by Zimparks and local safari operators to rescue snared or injured wild animals seen in and around Hwange National Park — the Dete Animal and Rescue Trust (DART) said from February to August this year they recovered 675 wire snares made from the disused telephone wires.
A recent visit by Sunday News to the team’s ranger station at Marist Brothers in Dete revealed the large quantities of telephone wires that have been removed.
Dete Animal Rescue Trust Programme Director Mr Paul de Montille said it was worrying that abandoned telephone lines have turned from being a useful tool that it was to a “deadly threat to wildlife”.
He said through the indulgence of TelOne, they have commenced the removal of the disused wires.
“We have more recently been recovering telephone wires. In the old days, there were landline telephones and they are no longer used. The telephone wires were running from the then PTC (TelOne) exchange in Dete to everybody who had a telephone, so there were so many wires leaving Dete and running along the boundary of the national park.
“As a result, we were engaged to rescue the many animals caught by wire snares. What we have realised is that the telephone wire is not just copper wire but is sort of like steel covered with copper. They did not want it to either rust or break so it was made to be a very strong wire. As such, poachers were now chopping down the poles and getting the wire to make snares. If an animal gets caught on the wire it cannot break it and it seemed very efficient for poaching,” said Mr de Montille.
He said in the last three months they managed to harvest 26 tonnes of disused telephone wirelines along the boundary of the Hwange National Park.
“We have calculated and found that it can be roughly 620 kilometres of wire that we have so far collected. Tragically, kudus, buffaloes, impalas, and zebras have been ensnared in these cruel and indiscriminate traps,” he said.
He said the removal of the wires focused on the region surrounding Umtshibi Camp to Kennedy Vlei along the park’s boundary. This area is renowned for its exceptional wildlife sightings and serves as a refuge for sable and roan antelope.
It is also a prime hunting territory for lions. He said it was sad that in the vast section of Hwange National Park, the animals have been falling victim to the brutal and lethal traps set by poachers.
According to experts, while finding, untangling, and rolling up this “dangerous” wire proves to be a frustratingly slow and time-consuming mission, the results are worthwhile.
IFAW Field Operations Manager Mr Anorld Chipa said the removal of the 26 tonnes of telephone wire potentially prevented the creation of more than 200 000 snares that could have killed thousands of precious wildlife.
“Every single animal is incredibly important. By removing such a substantial amount of wire, we are actively contributing to the protection of many species. Our actions in saving these animals are directly contributing to the preservation of our planet’s biodiversity and ecosystem,” said Mr Chipa.
@nyeve14
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