Poachers killed 26 elephants using cyanide at two locations within Zimbabwe’s biggest game reserve, prompting wildlife officials to buy drones and import anti-poaching dogs, the head of the country’s wildlife body said.
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“The authorities must deploy the police and army in the parks”, conservationist Johnny Rodrigues said.
Another batch of dead elephants has been found by rangers at the Hwange National Park.
Police spokeswoman Charity Charamba said no arrests had been made so far.
Cyanide is widely used in Zimbabwe’s mining industry and the national parks spokesperson says the government should make sure that the chemical is not easy to obtain. A few tusks were left behind after the recent killings, which officials said is a sign that the patrols are disrupting poachers’ work.
The independent Bhejane Trust is also reporting on the discovery of nine elephant carcasses.
They are bringing back fears of a repeat of the 2013 tragedy, when more than 100 elephants were killed in the national park.
“All this poaching is because of American policies, they are banning sport hunting”.
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On Monday, the environment, water and climate minister, Oppah Muchinguri, blamed the increase in poaching on a U.S. ban on hunting Zimbabwean elephants for sport. “An elephant would cost 120,000 U.S. dollars in sport hunting but a tourist pays only 10 USA dollars to view the same elephant”, she said, adding money from sport hunting is crucial in conservation efforts.
