Published by the government of Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe: Beitbridge Scales Up Anti-Poaching Drive
Thupeyo Muleya
23 November 2009
The Beitbridge Rural District Council is working on measures to curb rampant poaching of wildlife and natural resources in the district, an official has said.
In an interview recently, chairperson of the natural resources management committee Mr Joseph Muleya, said they had mobilised a number of resources and would soon descend on the poachers as they were losing a lot of revenue to poachers across the district.
He added that the most affected areas were those in the far east of the district and those on the periphery of the River Ranch conservation area and Zhovhe Dam.
Mr Muleya said they would rope in the police and Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority officials in the fight against poaching.
He said in the case of Zhovhe Dam, most of the poachers came from Masera, Gwanda and Bulawayo.
He said apart from fish poaching, the killing of wild animals in the district, plundering of natural resources was on the increase.
He warned the villagers that the law would catch up with them. He said council were in the process of forming crime committees with several stakeholders including the police in a bid to bring sanity to wildlife conservation.
Meanwhile, some villagers in Beitbridge East have also raised concern over the increase of stocktheft cases in the area, saying it was negatively affecting their livelihood.
They said the suspects were now selling stolen livestock in Mozambique and to some unscrupulous dealers from Bulawayo and Masvingo. The most affected farmers are those in areas bordering with Masvingo province and Chiredzi District.
Ward councilor for Chituripasi Mr Enock Ndou said in an interview that hundreds of cattle had been lost since most farmers were resettled a few years ago. He said the villagers had resorted to constructing kraals very close to their homesteads to reduce such incidents of stocktheft.
Mr Ndou said they were now consulting with the police anti-stocktheft unit in a bid to find a lasting solution to the problem. Some villagers were even accusing former white commercial farmers who have moved to Mozambique of fuelling some of the thefts.
"The situation here is worrying, the villagers are loosing a number of livestock to a gang of rustlers who sell them to unscrupulous businesspeople in Bulawayo, Masvingo and Mozambique.
"We are consulting with the police and relevant stakeholders to put an end to this criminal vice.
"As the local authority, we banned private cattle sale in the district, but they are some people who are still involved in clandestine deals," he said.
Mr Ndou said they were planning on meeting all relevant government departments from Beitbridge and Chiredzi in a move to find lasting solution to the problem.
He said they would soon complete the formation of community crime committees in consultation with the security forces in the area.
Recently, seven men were arrested by Beitbridge police while driving a herd of 37 cattle on their way to Mozambique.
On several occasions, the police have rounded up rustlers in the area, but their efforts prove to be fruitless
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