31 Zambians arrested in Zimbabwe in 2016 for poaching

31 Zambians, seven Mozambicans and a South African were among 443 people arrested in Zimbabwe in 2016 for poaching, that country’s national parks authority has said.

In a summary of anti-poaching activities for 2016, the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) spokesperson Caroline Washaya-Moyo said there was an increase on arrests last year compared to 2015 when 317 were arrested. 

She said on 10 January that, “The year 2016 witnessed an increase in the number of wildlife cases that were concluded, resulting in at least 513 years being passed for mandatory nine year sentences for wildlife crime compared to 414 years in 2015. The increase has been attributed to the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority’s successful efforts in lobbying for the passing of the law which provides for such deterrent sentences by our courts.”

A crime analysis report for 2016 shows that 211 poaching cases were investigated and 116 were finalised. In 2015, 203 cases were investigated and 111 were finalised, she said.

Seventy six tusks were recovered, down from 204 in 2015, and 179 ivory pieces were recovered compared to 325 recovered in 2015. Eight pangolin trophies were recovered last year up from five in 2015. Also recovered were 36 live pangolins last year, a slight increase from 34 in 2015. Anti-poaching teams also seized 22 guns last year as well as at least 5 613 kilogrammes of abalone.

Washaya-Moyo said locals, who constitute a majority of those arrested for poaching, are working mainly with colleagues from Zambia as well as Mozambique, targeting wildlife sanctuaries in the north-west and south-east of the country.

ZimParks released the 2016 report in a week it also announced the shooting to death of three suspected poachers in Hwange National Park and Hurungwe near Lake Kariba.

Two were killed on 10 January in Hwange while one, believed to be a Zambian, was shot dead in Hurungwe on 11 January. 

Zimbabwean wildlife, like South Africa’s, is under threat from well organised poaching syndicates.

South Africa’s Department of Environmental Affairs announced in January last year that 1,175 rhinos were poached in 2015, 40 fewer than in the previous year, the first drop in cases since 2008.