ZIMBABWE CONSERVATION TASK FORCE

13th August 2008

NATIONAL PARKS AUTHORIZE SHOOTING OF ELEPHANTS

In the past week, we have received numerous very disturbing reports from tourists and locals alike regarding the wholesale killing of wildlife, in particular, elephants.

According to sources, the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Management has embarked on an "Elephant Population Management Programme" and this year, around 1800 elephants have already been shot in Hwange National Park alone. Furthermore, they plan on shooting another 1000. National Parks have allegedly contracted South African hunters to shoot the elephants.

It is of great concern that not only are elephant bulls being shot, but cows as well, leaving orphaned calves behind. We have also been informed that they intend to capture the orphans to be domesticated for elephant rides. Elephants with big tusks are being especially targeted.

According to our sources, the tusks and skins have not been sent to Central Stores so many people are wondering what has happened to them. We have the names of some of the unscrupulous hunters and Safari Companies who are assisting in the decimation of the wildlife we have left here.

National Parks have apparently been issuing permits to clients to shoot other animals for rations as well - not only in Hwange National Park, but also in other National Park areas around the country. In addition to elephants, the ration animals include buffalo, lion, kudu and impala.

A hunt was conducted in Chizarira last month where 2 buffalo were shot. Chizarira is not a designated hunting area. The hunt was conducted by war veterans and 2 South African hunters, with the approval of a National Parks official. On another occasion, an elephant with 90 pound tusks was shot by a South African hunter in the same park but first prize goes to a hunter known as "The London Hunter" who has shot 47 elephants in Chizarira alone.

Before the March elections, numerous animals were shot for meat to encourage the hungry people to attend the ZANU PF political rallies and before the June run-off elections, more animals were shot for the same reason. Since the June election, the ruling party has held countless victory celebrations country-wide and animals have been shot for these celebrations as well. We have now just had our Heroes Day commemorations and National Parks donated 7 elephants and 7 buffalo to Mashonaland Central Province for food at the celebrations.

Gun shots are heard regularly in Kariba and last Saturday, a fresh elephant carcass was found about 800 metres from the crocodile farm. The meat, tusks and skin had been removed.


ELEPHANT REMAINS FOUND IN KARIBA

Reports have been received of wire snares hanging neatly from hooks on the trees around the National Parks living quarters at Nyanyana Camp in Kariba and a seemingly constant supply of fresh meat hanging from wires. A couple of years ago, Kariba was teeming with impala, wart hog, waterbuck etc. but now, it is very rare to see any of the smaller plains game there. Impala, which has always been abundant all over Zimbabwe is almost non-existent in Kariba today.

It is heartbreaking that the wildlife is paying the biggest price of all in the economic collapse of this country. The wild animals are the best tourist attraction Zimbabwe has to offer and we sincerely hope the authorities will come to their senses and realize that before it is all gone.

Johnny Rodrigues
Chairman for Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force
Landline: 263 4 336710
Landline/Fax: 263 4 339065
Mobile: 263 11 603 213
Email: galorand@mweb.co.zw
Website: www.zctf.mweb.co.zw
Website: www.zimbabwe-art.com

Is anyone surprised?

Impoverished Zimbabweans are killing elephants, claim activists
By Sebastien Berger, Southern Africa Correspondent
Last Updated: 7:01pm BST 14/08/2008



Elephants in Zimbabwe are being shot and eaten as wildlife is decimated by the impact of the country's economic crisis, activists claimed today.


Almost 2,000 elephants have been killed in and around the Hwange national park in north-west Zimbabwe this year, the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force claimed, adding that the country's national parks department intended to authorise the shooting of 1,000 more by the end of the year.


Johnny Rodrigues, the ZCTF's chairman, said the information had come from ex-employees of the parks authority, and the killings were the result of a combination of hunting, poaching, and an alleged culling programme that he believes is being used as a cover for illegal ivory trade.

"The actual employees can shoot these animals in lieu of wages," he claimed. "It's the only way they can survive.

"With the economic meltdown these guys are getting paid about seven US dollars a month, way below the poverty line. They shoot the animals and sell the meat to the locals."

He said that under a population management programme adults with large tusks were being chosen for shooting, and their skins and ivory were not being delivered to the wildlife authority's central stores.

"The people have to survive, there's no food in the market so what are they going to do? They are going to shoot the animals, that you can understand. But this is something else. Where is it? There's a market somewhere and somebody's buying all the stuff.

"It is heartbreaking that the wildlife is paying the biggest price of all in the economic collapse of this country."

International authorities, though, cautioned that a number of "alarmist" and "exaggerated" reports have been made about the wildlife situation in Zimbabwe in the past.

Zimbabwe has one of the largest elephant populations in Africa, estimated by various international organisations at around 100,000 animals - although Mr Rodrigues puts the figure at about 45,000.

However a spokesman for Traffic International, the global anti-wildlife- trafficking organisation, said: "Elephant numbers appear to be stable or currently slightly increasing in Zimbabwe at the moment."

Under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species Zimbabwe is allowed to export the remains of 1,000 elephants a year, 500 of them as hunting trophies.

Last month CITES also authorised it to make a one-off sale of 3.7 tons of ivory from its national stockpile.

John Sellar, CITES's enforcement officer, stressed that the sale would not have been allowed if the situation was "out of control", and added that he considered the country's wildlife management officials "very impressive".

"We have never had any reason to think they have something to hide," he said.

"It's clearly a country that's under a lot of pressure from a variety of directions. I'm sure they are up against it in places. Given the socio-economic problems there it would be astonishing if there wasn't poaching taking place.

"The poaching of elephants is just as much motivated by a desire to acquire the meat as it is to acquire ivory." He added that culling was an accepted part of elephant population management across Africa.

"It's certainly true that Zimbabwe every year kills a large number of elephants as part of problem animal control but I wouldn't have thought it was 1,800," he said.

"If Zimbabwe has decided to engage in culling to control its stocks that's a matter for Zimbabwe. They are completely entitled to do that."

Officials from Zimbabwe's Parks and Wildlife Management Authority could not be reached for comment.

I received an unsolicited and very odd PM a while ago from a member who very quickly disappeared from the forum that said

' am pleased to inform you and anybody ells interested that our Safari with Londonhunter in Zimbabwe went smooth and we had no hick-ups at all.'

I guess it must be the same London Hunter.

Interestingly, yesterday I received a call from a booking agent here locally (that books for a company out of Montana - International Outdoor Consultants) that was very enthusiastically telling me about elephant bull cull hunts available in some Zimbabwae parks. The hunts are to be three-day hunts for one bull in the 40-50 pound range. The pricing was VERY attractive, but most of the time if it seems too good to be true, it usually is. Has anyone else been approached about similar hunts from other outfitters ? Also, I think the hunts would be conducted by PH's from So. Africa. Any information would be appreciated ..... thanks.

Let me add to my post above - I'm more interested in comments about this type of offer from an ethical viewpoint than an economic perspective. I'm not too worried about going & losing money - I'm wondering if this type of hunt isn't just a way for Zim politicians & greedy PH's to grab more money at the expense of the game populations.

The sad truth is that somebody has to cull them. The culling needs to be cows and calfs not mature bulls. Safari operators can do it in safari areas but who is going to do it in the parks? One of my former PH's shot five hundred in Wankie park as a cropping officer. All this occured under Ian Smiths government and was an accepted practice.

London Hunter is a member of this forum and he did in fact participate in a cull hunt in one of the parks, Hwange I believe, but I very much doubt that he shot 47 elephants. If I recall, he reported that he shot a couple of ele, a lion and some lesser stuff. He was not my client, I am just going off info that was reported on this forum. I believe he hunted under the auspices of a South African outfitter. The taking of a Lion, and the South African angle, both surprised me.

I am not sure to what extent these hunts are going on inside the Parks, but there have been several solicitations from RSA outfitters offering cheap ele cull hunts in Zim National Parks, both here on this forum and by email. There is nothing conceptually wrong with Zim Parks making some money from a controlled and necessary cull, except for the fact that it's illegal and thus risky for the client. At the end of the day, the letter of the law is what determines whether you go to jail or not.

I do know for a fact that there are management hunts available in the Safari areas surrounding some of the parks. We offer these hunts. We have had 3 clients take a management bull elephant this season on the periphery of Mana Pools Natl Park. The trophies are not exportable, and the ivory has to be below 25lb per side. It's also possible to take a buff, hippo or PG provided quota is approved. These hunts are conducted by a Zim PH hunting with Zim Parks scouts and all the correct papers. I have every reason to believe the program is managed from Harare, it's not a case of local initiative. One of these hunters published his report on this forum quite recently, under the Hunt Reports section.

The fundamental problem is that CITES allows Zim only 500 exportable bulls per year, and this number is below the number needed to stabilize the population, let alone reduce the numbers. So Parks makes up the delta via PAC hunts and now these management hunts. The meat is of course utilized, as are the hide and the ivory. Parks takes possession immediately the elephant is shot.

Frank,

Regarding your second post, you might like to check this link which refers to the legalities of hunting in the Zimbabwe national parks. https://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/1411043/m/537103109

As you're an American you should also make very sure you're not in contravention of the Lacey Act. See this link, https://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/1411043/m/779109409 which although not directly connected, does make some good points.

Zimbabwe has some very good hunting and some excellent operators but you need to make very sure indeed that you only deal with one of them.

Anyone who offers you things like hunts in national parks in zimbabwe is (knowingly or unknowingly) offering you a product that could get you and possibly them as well into very serious trouble.

Hope that helps.

quote:

Originally posted by Scott450:
On another occasion, an elephant with 90 pound tusks was shot by a South African hunter in the same park but first prize goes to a hunter known as "The London Hunter" who has shot 47 elephants in Chizarira alone.

Info probably gleened from right here on the internet. Probably the only place that alias was used.

What's the story on this Johnny Rodrigues?

I thought I had read his press reports are less than credible?

Johnny couldn't get the facts right if you gave them to him printed out in point form . He is also radically anti hunting.

However, the fact remains that it is illegal to anybody other than a parks officer, A PH, Pro Guide or Leaner PH to shoot any animal inside a national park. Visitors who have participated in these hunts have commited a crime under Zim law. Weather there will ever be any fall out is doubtful but it may happen - especially for US nationals - The political officer at the Embassy responsible for such things has been ferriting for facts on US citizens commiting wildlife crims in zim.

Zimbabwe is very selective in its application of the law - like the legal requirement that the owner of title deeds of a farm is the person who has to issue a hunting permit. Any other permit- including those issued by National Parks is invalid - Under Zim Law, the land owner (holder of title) owns the wildlife on the property- not the state. Hasn't stopped national parks from issuing hundreds of hunting permits for occupied farms.

With official inflation now a 200 Million % per anum, change cannot be far off. Then there will be a rekoning, and there are a good few parks officers who will none the worse for a good hanging

Zimbabwe: Elephants Slaughtered At Alarming Rate

SW Radio Africa (London)

COLUMN
19 August 2008
Posted to the web 20 August 2008

Violet Gonda


Zimbabwe's once thriving wildlife and tourism industry is under serious threat as authorities continue to kill elephants and other animals at an alarming rate.

Johnny Rodrigues, the chairman for the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, said the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Management has embarked on what they are calling an "Elephant Population Management Programme". But the authorities are deliberately targeting elephants with the largest tusks, which has nothing to do with population control.


Conservationists believe the Parks authorities are killing the animals for money, under the guise of animal control. Hunting tenders are not going to locals and as a result of the lawlessness caused by the economic and political crisis, foreign hunters are using the crisis to abuse the system. Rodrigues said there is a huge market for ivory and tusks can go for as much as £65 000 in some cases.

He said the ivory and skins are not being sent to the Parks central stores and nothing is being recorded. Unscrupulous hunters from South Africa are working with some of the Chinese nationals in the country, who are in cahoots with corrupt government officials.

This uncontrolled slaughter is destroying the gene pool of Zimbabwe's wildlife and threatens the future of the tourist industry which, until recently, was a very large foreign currency earner for the country.

Conservationists are also very concerned about the manner in which the animals are being killed. With the lack of expertise and control many animals are not cleanly killed and are just wounded. These animals then become very dangerous and can end up attacking people.

The so called 'culling' that is illegally taking place is targeting whole family groups. The adults are slaughtered for their ivory and the traumatised young are sold on to unscrupulous users.

This is happening in contravention of international trade regulations that Zimbabwe has signed up to and once you decimate herds and kill the biggest and the best, it takes generations to repair the damage.

In Hwange National Park alone authorities have killed over 1800 elephants and plan to slaughter at least another 1000. It seems that Hwange is often used as a killing ground, because in the early 1990's the army were given free reign and all the white rhino in the area were killed.

Parks say there are over 100 000 elephants in Zimbabwe, but conservationists have long believed that these figures are artificially inflated to try to justify Zimbabwe's regular requests to CITES for permission to sell its ivory. The Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force estimates there are actually less than 50 000 elephants.



Once again Zimbabwe's crisis targets the most innocent - in this case, our wildlife.

quote:

Originally posted by Ganyana:
Johnny couldn't get the facts right if you gave them to him printed out in point form . He is also radically anti hunting.

Yes that is what I thought.

I wonder then why his crap is so often "parroted" here then.