http://www.mmegi.bw/index.php?...012/August/Tuesday21

Poachers kill 19 elephants


BAME PIET
Staff Writer



At least 19 carcasses of elephants have been found in the Kasane area since the shooting of two alleged Namibian poachers by the BDF anti-poaching unit on July 17, Mmegi has established. "Ever since the July shooting of two Namibian poachers, our anti-poaching officers have found 15 carcasses of elephants with tusks removed," the Commander of the Botswana Defence Force (BDF), Lieuetenant General Gaolathe Galebotswe, said at his inaugural press briefing at Sir Seretse Khama Barracks yesterday.

"Just this morning, I received another report that four carcasses were found over the past few days with tusks missing." Galebotswe stated that poachers are on the prowl along the country's borders with Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa. He said that the poachers use sophisticated methods that should be met with a response of the same magnitude. "The problem is that unlike in the past, there is money involved in modern poaching," he said."Our grandparents used to poach to put food on the table; not for commercial purposes. But all that has changed." General Galebotswe said the BDF has a good relationship with its Namibian counterpart and have carried out joint operations and exercises since the beginning of this year. Meanwhile, the new army chief commander has vowed to fight for improved working conditions for his men and women. Addressing journalists yesterday, he said soldiers should view the army as "the best place to be" and that that can only be achieved if the soldiers have better remuneration and accommodation.

He said that the army continues to lose non-commissioned officers and professionals such as doctors, nurses and engineers to other competitors who offer better working conditions than the army. The problem, he said, is that salaries are often linked to rank irrespective of qualifications, hence the need to pay in accordance with the market offers. 'We are losing a lot of non-commissioned officers at the rank of Lance Corporal who are still young and eager to explore other opportunities or pursue other interests," he said. "So we intend to de-link the remuneration from one's rank and pay the equivalent of what others in the industry are paying. "But it will still be a challenge because our officers are on duty 24/7 but their counterparts in other institutions work normal hours and are free to travel outside their workstations any time. In the army, one can only travel outside one's workstation if one is on leave or off-duty."

I just finished a hunt there. Poaching is out of control where we were.

I finished a hunt in CH1&2 on the 15th. During the hunt we were met by a BDF helicopter, several troops poured out to see who we were. They said there were reports of shots fired on Sat. Aug 4th. Unfortunately we were met on the 7th. If they were serious about stopping poaching a timely follow up and troops on the ground would be a good start.

We came across a poached elephant with tusks removed. We marked the GPS coords. and relayed the info to the Wildlife dept.

We had poachers spotlighting right around camp . They shot at least 3 different nights. We heard shots while hunting on 3 different mornings. Wildlife guys came in after we called but were too late. We came across several obviously poached carcasses .

Apparently, they are plenty happy to shoot poaching Namibians but do little when it is their own people.

Goodbye to elephant paradise now that the animals will be without the protection of good men such as Johan Calitz. I mourn for the terror about to be inflicted on these wonderful animals.

Right you are Dave.

http://www.mmegi.bw/index.php?...2012/August/Friday24


The spectre of poaching



The steady escalation of poaching has become a worrying menace to the country's tourism industry, writes Mmegi Staffer, EPHRAIM KEORENG




Stories of poachers read like action packed movies of the wild, featuring small helicopters flying low, just above trees, armed with long distance rifles. Poaching is an issue of serious concern especially for countries teeming with elephants, rhinos and other such endangered species.

What makes it more serious is that it has evolved from an occasional killing of a bird or duiker to a hugely commercialised trans-boundary game. Poachers kill elephants and rhinos for their high priced tusks. Of huge concern are poachers who illegally cross into Botswana and kill animals or in some cases capture live predator cubs. Recently, two suspected poachers from Namibia were shot by the Botswana Defence Force (BDF).

They came into the country under the cover of darkness last month. They were caught with two elephant tusks and when asked to surrender, chose to fire back, which led to the death of one of the poachers. This is one of many incidents involving poachers from neighbouring countries.

Chobe MP, Gibson Nshimwe knows quite well the impact of poaching to the country's economy. Wildlife is one of the major economic boosters, with the Chobe area contributing the lion's share of tourism's contribution to the economy.

People in his constituency and others living side by side wildlife know as much too. This is because Botswana, and especially the Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism have laid down a good foundation to educate communities living alongside wildlife to understand the importance of conservation as the flora and fauna is helpful in that it does not only beautify their environs but also attracts tourists from all over the world who inject monies into the economy.

"In the past, before there were laws on poaching, the hunting season used to run from April to September. When government embarked on conservation education campaigns, Batswana realised that hunting is not the only way to make money. You can also do game drives, photo shoots, boat cruises and other things which do not endanger wildlife and threaten their existence," Nshimwe says.

Conversely, says Nshimwe, governments in neighbouring countries are at the infant stage of educating their citizens about the importance of conservation. He says Zimbabwe, Zambia and Namibia, which share the Chobe River with Botswana, have serious challenges and have sought help from the latter.

"They do come here often to come and benchmark with us," he says.He says that last year close to five elephants were killed in the Chobe National Park, Nogatshaa, which is deep in the park.

He says poachers prefer to keep away from open areas and go deeper into the park for fear of the community's vigilance. The community is always on the lookout for poachers or suspicious activity by people who seem intent on poaching.

"In Chobe District, we have conservation groups teaching our people wildlife conservation," he says.

quote:

"In the past, before there were laws on poaching, the hunting season used to run from April to September. When government embarked on conservation education campaigns, Botswana realised that hunting is not the only way to make money. You can also do game drives, photo shoots, boat cruises and other things which do not endanger wildlife and threaten their existence," Nshimwe says.

This paragraph shows little hope for hunting in Botswana. I would like to see their plan to replace the benefits of hunting. For example, the 40 community staff Butler and Holbrow employ in CH1 and 2, the benefits of the meat from 28 Elephants in those 2 concessions going directly to the villages, the $$$ directly injected into the communities from concession fees, or the Wildlife Dept. losing the direct link on the ground to curb poaching, etc, etc the list goes on.

I wonder how many photo safari companies will sink bore holes?? That number will be a big ZERO.

I MAY be wrong...but I predict Botswana will auction off elephant permits in areas supposed to be "closed" in 2013.

If you read some of Johan Calitz quotes he clealy states that "Botswana is not closing elephant hunting..the game has changed but it is not closing" That may not be a direct quote but pretty close.