The Wildlife and Environment Zimbabwe (WEZ) group said that wildlife areas in the South East Lowveld are under serious threat, including the Gonarezhou National Park, Manjinji Bird Sanctuary, Chipinge and Malapati Safari Areas, Bubiana, Chiredzi River, Save and Malilangwe conservancies. These all make up part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation area, which is the world’s largest interregional conservation park.
The WEZ said serious poaching was taking place in the areas, with elephants being killed for ivory, rhinos for the horns and lions, zebra, leopards and cheetahs all being killed for their skin. The group said it was all commercial poaching and if it was not prevented quickly “we can write off wildlife in the Lowveld and we should forget about our participation in the Great Limpopo Transfrontier tourism”.
The same area is also under serious threat from people who are invading the conservation areas and killing the elephants and antelopes for meat. The WEZ said that people are also killing lions and crocodiles because they are viewed as “pests”.
“They are clearing vegetations for crops such as maize and cotton, but the areas under wildlife protection are not suitable for cropping and are not good for cattle ranching as well,” the WEZ said.
The group said: “WEZ appeals to the powers that be to help remove these people and help them by settling in suitable areas where they can do their cropping.”
The group added that it has appealed to the Ministries of Environment and Tourism to intervene, before wildlife in the area faces extinction.
Post published in: Environment