The IAPF sets out its mission in Zimbabwe.

Despite the negative press that Zimbabwe receives around the world it is still a captivating destination that simply has to be seen to be believed. Areas that have maintained wildlife protection efforts are some of the most spectacular in the world and must not be ruled out as a holiday destination. However some areas that have not been able to maintain sufficient anti poaching units have been decimated. 

Ten years of economic oppression and instability has painted a picture where poachers have been free to slaughter wildlife by the masses. The magnitude of the devastation caused by the demand for ivory and bush meat from the area is unprecedented. Poaching with snares is indiscriminate, with old taboos against eating certain animals forgotten about as the supply of wildlife dwindles.

Many sources estimate that overall up to 70 per cent of Zimbabwe’s wildlife has vanished. In some areas it has been recorded as high as 83 per cent overall. Once one of the worlds premiere wildlife havens, it now faces an enormous conservational challenge. The IAPF is determined to be a part of the change that is required here. Through direct action and community based education the IAPF is confident the tides can be swung in affected regions. 


Zambezi National Park –
Wild Horizons Wildlife Trust Anti Poaching Unit. Victoria Falls

Victoria Falls
Victoria Falls, one of the seven wonders of the world, has been notorious for poaching activity in the past. Were it not for Charles Brightman’s efforts with the Victoria Falls Anti Poaching Unit, then all tourism related industry in the area would surely have suffered badly through the loss of wildlife. This would have affected the jobs of thousands of locals who rely on the tourism industry to feed their family.

Training the Team
The Wild Horizons Trust employs an anti poaching contingency of 26 guards. Duties are divided between fence patrols, static guard duties and active patrols of a conservancy within the Zambezi National Park.

Damien Mander, Founder and Director of the IAPF started working with the unit in July 2009. Following a period of intensive operational patrols Damien comleted a training assessment based on the Unit's deficiencies. The remainder of the year was then spent instructing the unit in these areas, bringing them up to a high degree of operational readiness.

Maintaining a presence on the ground was vital at all times so the training had to revolve around these responsibilities. In order to maintain this presence, many lessons were given two or three times to ensure every member of the unit was eventually present. Several members were identified as possessing strong leadership qualities and given additional training in specialist disciplines.

Results
The team has worked extremely well removing several hundred wire snares from the park and over 20 arrests made within 2009 alone. In the same period only two animals have been killed by poachers in the park with an additional two having to be destroyed due to injuries sustained from snares. Six found to be trapped in wire snares were freed and subsequently survived thanks to quick reactions from the team on the ground. These low figures are a direct example of how the presence of an efficient anti poaching unit not only counteracts poaching, but offers hope to trapped wildlife. 

Retraining a convicted Poacher
The program here has employed and retrained a convicted poacher who has now established himself as one of the best scouts in the unit. His patrol often jokes that he has laid many of the well hidden snares that he continues to locate on patrol. In actual fact he just has an extremely good eye, but the old adage that ‘it takes one to know one’ rings true amongst his mates in the unit.

Collaboration
Wild Horizon’s Anti Poaching Unit works closely with Victoria Falls Anti Poaching Unit and has also worked in joint operations with Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority and Zimbabwe Police.