A TOTAL of 408 people have so far been arrested for poaching since the beginning of the year, the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Authority (ZimParks) has said.
BY MUNESU NYAKUDYA
In a status report, ZimParks also said that a total seven people were killed during poaching, six of them locals while one was a foreigner.
ZimParks spokesperson Tinashe Farawo said they lost two rangers due to retaliation by armed poachers. “It’s unfortunate that two lives have been lost after suspected poachers exchanged fire with our well-trained rangers in Matusadona Mountains,” he said.
According to the status report, a total of 92 poachers managed to escape and among them, 85 were locals with the remainder being foreigners.
ZimParks only managed to recover 615 items and among them were 19 rifles, 71 rounds of ammunition, 45 ivory tusks, 145 game nets, 285 snares and 50 boats.
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Conservation efforts for species are seriously affected by poaching, which mainly targets key animals such as elephants and rhinos.