BY NOKHUTHULA KHUMALO
Zimbabwe has lost over 90 percent of its wildlife since the government's controversial land grab, with an estimated 60 percent of animals having been killed by poachers to relieve massive economic woes, according to a report released by Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force (ZCTF).
Johnny Rodrigues, author of the report, said wildlife had been almost wiped out on Zimbabwe's former private game ranches in the seven years since President Robert Mugabe began seizing and dividing the areas into small plots.

"Some 90 percent of animals have been lost since 2000, while the country has seen an estimated 60 percent of its total wildlife killed off to help ease massive economic woes indiscriminately. There's a lot of commercial poaching, there are people on the ground snaring these animals," said Rodrigues.
According to the task force, Zimbabwe had 620 private game farms before the land seizures began, but now has 14. And of 14 conservancies before 2000, only one remains.
"They're telling the world they want the tourists to come back, but the tourists aren't going to come back because most of the animals you see nowadays have amputated legs. It's just like a rehabilitation center," he said.

The report acknowledges that the findings are still preliminary - many of the farmers whose land was seized have left the country, so in some cases the group had to rely on hazy reports from people still near the former ranches.
"We are not claiming to 'know' how much wildlife has been lost," the report said. "We have just tried to make the most accurate estimate possible with very limited data to work with."
Still, the trend is a disaster, because Zimbabwe once had some of the world's most progressive and successful conservation policies.
Rodrigues blamed the government for killing 100 elephants last year so their meat could be served as part of Independence Day celebrations.

His report exposed that the Zimbabwean government recently sold ivory to China in exchange for military hardware.
According to the report, of 62 game ranches 59 made massive losses, including the killings of a total of 75 rare black rhinoceroses and 39 leopards.
Most of the losses appeared among antelope, including 9,500 impalas, nearly 5,000 kudus, and 2,000 wildebeests.

The report said "The country's economic meltdown has had a wide-ranging and devastating impact on what is one of Africa's premier tourist draws. The numbers help give a rough estimate of the environmental impact of Zimbabwe's recent descent into economic and political chaos".
The document reported evidence of widespread slaughter of game on the private ranches occupied under Mugabe's controversial land redistribution program.
Government regulations meant to shield the animals have been disobeyed, and wildlife officials have been forced to focus their limited resources on Zimbabwe's national parks and reserves.