African elephants, from a painting by Gail Van Lingen
Gland, Switzerland and Harare, Zimbabwe (GenevaLunch) – Evidence appears to be growing that poaching is on the rise in Zimbabwe and that international gangs are working with local poachers, based on converging reports from several sources. The increased poaching affects elephants and rhinos. Several species of both are on the protected species lists published by Gland-based IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature).
The government-run The Herald newspaper in Harare reported 3 November that at least 200 rhinos have been poached in the past three years, “as locals increasingly network with international syndicates in the illegal trade of the horns, the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Natural Resources, Environment and Tourism” was told by parks officials 2 November. Reporters were asked to leave the room when statistics were given for the current population. The Herald estimates the populations for white and black rhinos to be 500 and 300 respectively.
West and Central Africa appear to the be source of a sharp increase since 2008 in illegal trade in ivory, with China as the main destination, according to Traffic, a group that monitors ivory trade. Trafficking has doubled, the group reports. The suspected increase is based on quantities of ivory seized, which are likely only a fraction of the traffic, the group says. No explanation is given for the increase, but the analysis was done in advance of a Cites meeting to review ivory trade. Cites, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, is an international agreement to which countries are signatories.
