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Rhinos poached from Zim's parks
05/05/2007 11:44 - (SA)
Harare - Zimbabwe had lost about 40 black rhinos to poachers who killed the animals in government parks and conservancies over the past three years, a state daily said on Saturday.
"At least 40 black rhinos have been poached in some government parks and conservancies in the country over the past three years," the state-run Herald said.
The newspaper quoted World Wide Fund (WWF) spokesperson Melody Maunze as saying that although other animals such as buffalos and lions were not in danger, the black rhino was under siege.
"...We are concerned about the increasing levels of poaching in conservancies, in particular, and some state parks," Maunze said.
"Efforts should be made to work with communities now settled in some conservancies to constructively engage in wildlife management, which would be a more economically viable option, more suitable to local conditions than traditional livestock production systems some of them are into."
The southern African country temporarily placed over 100 rhinos at a private conservancy in the southern part of Matabeleland last year following the continued poaching of the endangered species.
Under the Convention on International Trade and Endangered Species, no country is allowed to trade in rhino products following the massive decline in its population in the 1980s.
Southern African countries are working together to boost rhino populations. Zimbabwe recently donated a black rhino to the Khama Wildlife Sanctuary in Serowe, Botswana.
- AFP
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