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BULAWAYO — Zimbabwe may never know the extent of the wanton poaching that has decimated the country’s wildlife now because the government does not have the money to carry out a game census.
The revelations came on the eve of a visit this week by Cites chief Willem Wijnstekers, which might open a can of worms on organised illegal hunting of game in Zimbabwe.
Wijnstekers will hold talks with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa, Attorney-General Johannes Tomana, Police Commissioner- General Augustine Chihuri and Zimra boss Geshom Pasi.
The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZPWMA) is supposed to carry out a game census every year to determine hunting quotas.
However, it has been unable to carry out any game count since 2008, a development that has unsettled conservationists.
The last census had revealed that the parks and estates had 100 000 elephants, 25 000 buffaloes and 70 00 zebras.
Some conservationists have accused the authority of deliberately delaying the census to hide the extent of poaching by its officials working in cohorts with ministers and other senior government officials.
“The problem with illegal hunting is that it is taking place with the assistance of national parks officials and there are many cases where they are involved, either for personal gain or because they are following orders from more senior officials or politicians,” chairman of the Zimbabwe Conservation Taskforce (ZCTF) Johnny Rodrigues said in an interview.
But Caroline Washaya Moyo, the ZPWMA public relations officer, blamed the developments on financial challenges.
“This (2008) is the last time that a wildlife population census was conducted as the authority was facing challenges financially and hence there were limited resources to enable it to constantly do a country-wide wildlife count,” Washaya-Moyo said without revealing how much is required to undertake the exercise.
She dismissed Rodrigues’ allegations that the delays could be deliberate as baseless.
The country has been plagued by an upsurge in poaching activities.
In December, government had to suspend the issuing of hunting licences to curb poaching.
According to statistics provided by the ZCTF, the country last year lost 350 rhinos, 20 000 zebras and over 6 000 elephants to poachers.
Most rhino horns and zebra skins leaving the country and southern Africa as a whole are destined for medicinal markets in southeast and east Asia, especially Vietnam and China.
Wildlife tourism was once one of the country’s major foreign currency earners before a decade of invasions of national parks by President Robert Mugabe’s supporters.
BY NQOBANI NDLOVU
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