Poaching - Kruger Park ranger arrested

27 July 2011, 03:13

Alan Bunn

Poaching - Kruger Park ranger arrested

Pretoria - A Kruger National Park game ranger has been arrested in connection with alleged rhino poaching, SA National Parks (SANParks) chief executive Dr David Mabunda said on Tuesday.

In a statement, Mabunda said the ranger, who was arrested on Monday, had been linked to previous rhino poaching incidents in the park.

"Internal disciplinary and criminal processes against the ranger will run concurrently and we hope for a speedy trial and believe that justice will prevail," said Mabunda.

"Rangers are guardians and a key force in protecting these rhinos. Those who do not aspire to these values should be flushed out and brought to book."

A total of 131 suspected poachers have been arrested, 65 of them in the Kruger National Park, since January.

Fifteen suspected poachers have also been killed and nine have been injured in clashes with Kruger National Park rangers since the start of the year.

So far this year 227 rhino have been killed, 20 of them in July.

The ranger would appear soon in the White River Magistrate's Court in Mpumulanga, said SANParks spokesperson Wanda Mkutshulwa.

- SAPA

Cheers,

~ Alan

Life Member NRA
Life Member SCI

email: editorusa(@)africanxmag(dot)com

African Expedition Magazine: http://www.africanxmag.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alan.p.bunn

Twitter: http://twitter.com/EditorUSA

Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. ~Keller

To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; to be credible we must be truthful. ~ Murrow

28 July 2011, 01:22

Alan Bunn

Or... use these low level operatives to work their way up the food chain to take out the leadership.

I don't get it, even the most junior cop on the beat knows this. Rather than splashing this guy's arrest in the media, it would have been better to quietly take him aside and offer to cut a deal.

It looks to me that they want to look like they are doing something, but don't want to find out who the real leaders are, since that could open a really big can of worms in the political world.

28 July 2011, 01:32

shakari

They already know who the guys at the top are and they already know they're untouchable because of diplomatic immunity.

I hate to say it but the truth is, the battle & the war are probably already lost and it's just a matter of time.

I reckon the only way to stop it is to ignore the diplomatic immunity and that will never happen.

I also reckon the next COP meeting will probably see a huge reduction and possibly a ban on rhino sport hunting quota. I hope I'm wrong on all counts but I doubt it.

28 July 2011, 02:16

Alan Bunn

What an uproar it would cause if some vigilante within the system took it upon themselves to release some hard evidence to the media.

And, if one of the top dogs were found face down in an alley with a rhino horn up his ass... well, it is Africa, ain't it.

Diplomatic immunity only works within the legal system.

Gray Ghost Hunting Safaris
http://grayghostsafaris.com Phone: 615-860-4333
Email: hunts@grayghostsafaris.com
NRA Benefactor
DSC Professional Member
SCI Member
RMEF Life Member
NWTF Guardian Life Sponsor
NAHC Life Member
Rowland Ward - SCI Scorer
Took the wife the Eastern Cape for her first hunt:
http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6881000262
Hunting in the Stormberg, Winterberg and Hankey Mountains of the Eastern Cape 2018
http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/4801073142
Hunting the Eastern Cape, RSA May 22nd - June 15th 2007
http://forums.accuratereloadin...=810104007#810104007
16 Days in Zimbabwe: Leopard, plains game, fowl and more:
http://forums.accuratereloadin...=212108409#212108409
Natal: Rhino, Croc, Nyala, Bushbuck and more
http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6341092311
Recent hunt in the Eastern Cape, August 2010: Pics added
http://forums.accuratereloadin...261039941#9261039941
10 days in the Stormberg Mountains
http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/7781081322
Back in the Stormberg Mountains with friends: May-June 2017
http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6001078232

"Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading" - Thomas Jefferson

Every morning the Zebra wakes up knowing it must outrun the fastest Lion if it wants to stay alive. Every morning the Lion wakes up knowing it must outrun the slowest Zebra or it will starve. It makes no difference if you are a Zebra or a Lion; when the Sun comes up in Africa, you must wake up running......

"If you're being chased by a Lion, you don't have to be faster than the Lion, you just have to be faster than the person next to you."