Zimbabwe's wildlife

ScottD · 07-02-2004, 06:51 PM

'Poaching is wiping out Zimbabwe's wildlife'
July 01 2004 at 02:09PM

By Ed Stoddard

Johannesburg - Rare species like the black rhino are being wiped out
in Zimbabwe because of rampant poaching and human settlement on private game
reserves seized by the state, a conservation group said on Thursday.

"At the moment the situation really stinks," said Johnny Rodrigues,
the head of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, a wildlife advocacy group.

"The reports we're getting from the guys on the ground are that all
the wildlife stocks have been completely wiped out in the private
conservancies, there's nothing left," he told Reuters in a telephone
interview from his Zimbabwe home.

Rodrigues said private reserves, once one of the backbones of
Zimbabwe's thriving wildlife and tourism industries, were being decimated by
President Robert Mugabe's seizure of white-owned land for distribution to
blacks.

The black rhino population has halved in four years and the African
wild dog is in danger of extinction in Zimbabwe, he said. Elephant numbers
have also dropped.

Game reserves as well as farms have been targeted under Mugabe's land
redistribution policy. Rodrigues said only 12 of the country's 88 private
conservancies had not been confiscated by the state.

Impoverished settlers are snaring animals for food and reducing
habitat by cutting trees for firewood while unscrupulous rangers are
bringing in foreign trophy seekers for uncontrolled hunting, he said.

The government has frequently denied reports of an upsurge in poaching
linked to lawlessness and a collapsing economy, which has experienced fuel
and foreign currency shortages along with food supply problems linked to the
farm seizures.

But Rodrigues said there was growing evidence Zimbabwe's once
magnificent herds of wildlife were suffering.

"In 2000 there were 400 to 500 black rhinos in the country but we now
estimate there are only 200 left, if that... We know of at least eight that
have been poached this year," he said.

The plight of the black rhino in Zimbabwe stands in contrast to the
rest of Africa, where the lumbering colossus is on the rebound.

The World Conservation Union and the wildlife preservation body WWF
International said last week that black rhino numbers in Africa now stood at
around 3 600, a rise of 500 over the last two years.

Poachers typically hack off the horns, valued in East Asia for medical
purposes, and leave the hulking carcasses to rot under the African sun.

--------------------

Kathi

kathi@wldtravel.com

PAPA G · 07-02-2004, 07:04 PM

must take a big pot to poach a rhino

Rufus Rhastus J · 07-03-2004, 08:46 AM

wonder, does Rhino taste like chicken?

07-03-2004, 08:51 AM

They don't eat it, they sell the horn. Total waste of an animal.

07-02-2004, 06:51 PM	#1
ScottD Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Evanston, IL Posts: 1,020	Zimbabwe's wildlife 'Poaching is wiping out Zimbabwe's wildlife' July 01 2004 at 02:09PM By Ed Stoddard Johannesburg - Rare species like the black rhino are being wiped out in Zimbabwe because of rampant poaching and human settlement on private game reserves seized by the state, a conservation group said on Thursday. "At the moment the situation really stinks," said Johnny Rodrigues, the head of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, a wildlife advocacy group. "The reports we're getting from the guys on the ground are that all the wildlife stocks have been completely wiped out in the private conservancies, there's nothing left," he told Reuters in a telephone interview from his Zimbabwe home. Rodrigues said private reserves, once one of the backbones of Zimbabwe's thriving wildlife and tourism industries, were being decimated by President Robert Mugabe's seizure of white-owned land for distribution to blacks. The black rhino population has halved in four years and the African wild dog is in danger of extinction in Zimbabwe, he said. Elephant numbers have also dropped. Game reserves as well as farms have been targeted under Mugabe's land redistribution policy. Rodrigues said only 12 of the country's 88 private conservancies had not been confiscated by the state. Impoverished settlers are snaring animals for food and reducing habitat by cutting trees for firewood while unscrupulous rangers are bringing in foreign trophy seekers for uncontrolled hunting, he said. The government has frequently denied reports of an upsurge in poaching linked to lawlessness and a collapsing economy, which has experienced fuel and foreign currency shortages along with food supply problems linked to the farm seizures. But Rodrigues said there was growing evidence Zimbabwe's once magnificent herds of wildlife were suffering. "In 2000 there were 400 to 500 black rhinos in the country but we now estimate there are only 200 left, if that... We know of at least eight that have been poached this year," he said. The plight of the black rhino in Zimbabwe stands in contrast to the rest of Africa, where the lumbering colossus is on the rebound. The World Conservation Union and the wildlife preservation body WWF International said last week that black rhino numbers in Africa now stood at around 3 600, a rise of 500 over the last two years. Poachers typically hack off the horns, valued in East Asia for medical purposes, and leave the hulking carcasses to rot under the African sun. -------------------- Kathi kathi@wldtravel.com __________________ "Some people can not live without wilderness"-Aldo Leopold

07-03-2004, 08:46 AM	#3
Rufus Rhastus J Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: West, Central Florida, Third World America Posts: 6,339 Images: 1	wonder, does Rhino taste like chicken? __________________ "They cannot be trusted.....The Romulans (our politicos) are without honor." Worf

07-02-2004, 07:04 PM	#2
PAPA G Guest Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: somerset, kentucky Posts: 11	must take a big pot to poach a rhino

07-03-2004, 08:51 AM	#4
Mr. Kaneko Guest Posts: n/a	They don't eat it, they sell the horn. Total waste of an animal.