Zimbabwe's Environment Minister declares war with poachers after more than 90 elephants are killed by poachers using cyanide in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe's largest protected area.
Image credit: Xu Lingui/Xinhua Press/Corbis
Saviour Kasukuwere, the country's Environment Minister, said the elephants had died in the last few weeks in Hwange National Park, the nation's largest, while security forces were preoccupied with the general election on 31 July. "We are declaring war on the poachers," he said. "We are responding with all our might because our wildlife, including the elephants they are killing, are part of the natural resources and wealth that we want to benefit the people of Zimbabwe."
Kasukuwere, who was appointed to the environment ministry just over a week ago, said he would push for stiff penalties for convicted poachers, although he believes runners in the village were paid a pittance by international syndicates to lace the salt licks and gather the tusks, and saying “We will cooperate with international organizations such as Interpol to crack down on the pay masters. So the war is on, it’s a war which we will win, we are not going to surrender,” Kasukuwere said. Officials say cyanide used in gold mining was spread by poachers over flat 'salt pans' - natural, mineral-rich salt licks. Cyanide attacks the bloodstream, kills almost instantly and causes rapid decomposition. Most of the poisoned elephants died in the past month. The chemical is commonly used by illegal gold panners to separate the metal from surrounding ore and is easily available.
Wildlife department officials said the chemical also killed other animals, including predators and scavengers which have fed on the carcasses, such as lion and vultures, but that no numbers were available. It is also feared that the poison will contaminate the soil and ground water and that the death toll will continue to rise.
Nine people were arrested on suspicion of laying poison in the park to kill elephants for their tusks. Police and rangers recovered 19 tusks, cyanide and wire snares after a sweep through villages close to the Park. To date three of the poachers arrested have been sentenced to 15 year jail terms and fines of (Zim) $200,000 sending a clear zero tolerance message to poachers.
Earlier in the week Zimbabwe Parks spokeswoman Caroline Washaya Moyo said it was Zimbabwe's worst single case of elephant poaching and that contact with the poison posed a danger to any animal or human. She said the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority had reminded people who live near the park not to eat the meat of any dead animals they find.
Tusks of the poisoned elephants are believed to have been smuggled into neighboring South Africa through illicit syndicates that pay poachers a fraction of the $1,500 a kilogram (2.2 pounds) that ivory can fetch on the black market.
The state Environmental Management Authority is planning to burn the elephant carcasses and call in experts to detoxify the affected areas, beginning with digging out the salt licks and removing the top layers of soil contaminated by the cyanide granules. Officials believe at least two deeply drilled wells supplying the water holes may have also been contaminated and will likely have to be sealed. New wells will probably be drilled away from the tainted ones.
Two years ago nine elephants, five lions and two buffalo died from cyanide poisoning in Hwange National Park. Just 50 rangers with archaic weapons patrol the 4,650-sq km (1,795-square mile) national park, an area almost as large as Swaziland, and wildlife authorities say 10 times that number are needed. Experts estimate Zimbabwe needs $30 million to launch an effective anti-poaching initiative.
"We are increasing our surveillance, we are increasing our intelligence, we are also increasing our enforcement. We are aware that we can't do this on our own, so we will work with other law enforcement agencies in the country," says National Parks Chief Edson Chidziya.
Last year more than 25,000 elephants were killed by poacher across Africa, according to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
Sources: The Daily Telegraph (24 Sept 2013),
The Guardian (25 Sept 2013)
BBC News (24 Sept, 2013)
SABC News (23 Sept 2013)
The Washington Post (01/10/13)
Read more about the region in our destination guide:
Hwange
Read more on elephants from the Zambezi Traveller:
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