Checking on botswana newspaper today. nothing has changed. lion is killed by farmers ( in photo they fail to mention the cuts made by a razor wire fence), Rhinos are beeing killed in their own sanctuaties and my old friend Thsenyos farmer who shoots an elephant once a month that are coming into his unfenced vegetable farm then sells the meat and is recompensed by the goverment is still at it.
This... is very sad news to me. NO ONE THERE IS STOPPING THIS. NEL GRANT OF 911 IS ALL TALK AND NO ACTION.
Edition 646. 12 - 19 Apri , 2013.
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Farmers shoot ‘problem lioness'
This lioness, which was a problem animal was killed on April 1 by farmers at the cattle posts outside Chanoga after it had killed their livestock. This was revealed by the Ngamiland Regional Wildlife Officer, Bolt Othomile who said the lioness was also a threat to human life as it posed danger to communities living in the area. The farmers who killed it later came to report the matter to the authorities as is required by law. Othomile said the law allows farmers to kill problem animals if they destroy their property or are a danger to human life.
POACHERS KILL RHINO NEAR MAUN
Rhino poachers have struck within 30km of Maun.
Four of the five men who killed and dehorned a rhino at Tsotsia cattle post near Nxaraga settlement have appeared before Maun principal magistrate Clifford Foroma.
The four - Morafe Disalahoo aged 61. Jacob Thabare (43), Keorapetse Itheetseng (34) and George Thimbumburu (38) - have been granted bail on condition that they report daily at Maun Police. The fifth man, who is said to be in possession of the missing horn, is still at large.
The bail application had been opposed, pending investigations by the prosecution, but their release came after the intervention of Charles Tlagae Attorneys. The next mention is scheduled for May 3.
The rhino that was poached was over the buffalo fence at Nxaragain the company of two others which had some years ago been relocated to the Moremi Game Reserve. It is the first known incident so close to Maun.
Maun Police Station Commander Kenny Badumetse said they, with the assistance from members of Botswana Defence Force (BDF) and officials from the Department of Wildlife, launched a massive manhunt for the people who killed the rhino.
He said the killing, in which both horns were removed, was reported on April 3. He said poaching has become rife in the district as most animals roam freely from the parks and other neighbouring wildlife areas.
The incident was also confirmed by Ngamiland Regional Wildlife Officer, Bolt Othomile, who said investigations into the matter are still ongoing, and that they are hopeful that arrests will be made. He said the Nxaraga killing is the first ever in Ngamiland - a region with insignificant rhino population.
Like the police, Othomile has appealed to members of the public to assist with information that could lead to the apprehension of the suspected poachers. Meanwhile, relations between humans and elephants have taken a nose dive after yet another bloody encounter in Kazungula over the weekend. This comes in the wake of another brush with death scenario in which an elephant left a young man with broken limbs in the Plateau area of Kasane. The latest confrontation involved another man who had gone to help chase away elephants that were damaging crops at Tshenyo Solomon's farm. “One of the elephants got angry and started charging at us and the gentleman immediately shot at the elephant with a rifle but it did not die,” Solomon told BOPA. The elephant battered the man, breaking the rifle in the process before leaving the scene oozing blood from gun shots. This latest attack did not only worsen the conflict between humans and elephants, it also aggravated the already fragile relations between Solomon's farm and the tourism sector, which relied heavily on elephants' availability to entertain tourists. To demonstrate their displeasure, two of the neighbouring lodges pulled out of his supply list and they were threatening to lobby other lodges to follow suit. Solomon said that elephants wreak havoc on his farm almost every day - “In fact, it is not just the elephants, but baboons and warthogs also play their part,” he said. However, when he did the seemingly reasonable act of fighting back with a rifle, he encountered friction with lodge owners who complained that he was scaring away and unsettling their customers who loved the place primarily for its elephants. “There are two lodges which have complained about this to me but I also have my business interests to look after. Their business should not come at my own expense,” he said. Grant Nel, of Enviro 911 Nneighbourhood Watch, attributed the economic success of the Chobe region on its reliance on elephants. It is estimated that there are about 71 000 elephants in the Chobe region, according to the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP). “Even the farmers' business would not be doing well if this place was not so rich in elephants and wild animals,” Nel said. He explained that his organisation mainly deals with illegal environmental issues such as poaching, but of late the human-wildlife conflict had taken priority. Nel said chasing elephants with rifles and firing gunshots was not solving any problem and he anticipated that things were going to get worse with drought expected in the region this year. He called on farmers to adequately protect their farms against elephant invasion but Solomon felt that they were doing enough, having electric fences around their farms and even going as far as trying out the chilli-pepper pilot project, which is said to keep elephants away. Even though it was still at pilot stage, some farmers had already dismissed it as “useless” as elephants still managed to make their way into the farms. Nel said in future when allocating land, wildlife corridors must be considered – “Farms should be allocated away from wildlife corridors and there is need for education on the importance of wildlife in this region,” he said and emphasised that commercial farmers and tourism enterprises must not infringe on each other's business.
