LATEST: First lady laments poaching

LATEST: First lady laments poaching | The Herald 15 October 2014

The future of endangered flagship species of animals in the country is under severe threat and we need to prioritise conservation efforts to ensure their fate is secure, the First Lady Dr Grace Mugabe has said.

Dr Mugabe who is also the patron of the Wildlife Ecological Trust said this on Tuesday at Hwange National Park while addressing hundreds of people who gathered for the commemoration of the ecological disaster which killed 106 elephants among other animals last year.

The event was also attended by Ministers of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Professor Jonathan Moyo, Environment, Water and climate Saviour Kasukuwere and of State for Matebeleland North Provincial Affairs Cain Mathema among others.

“We would like to reflect on the tragic events of 2013 when through poisoning, we sadly lost over a hundred elephants. I also hasten to underscore Government’s commitment to the conservation of not only elephants but all wildlife resources in Zimbabwe.

“Zimbabwe is working with Angola, Botswana, Namibia and Zambia to implement wildlife conservation initiatives in this area. The collaboration with our neighbouring state ensures not only biodiversity conservation but socio-economic and tourism development,” said Dr Mugabe.

She added that poaching of wildlife poses a serious threat to security in the country and more should be done to combat illegal hunting of wildlife.

“The use of poisons for wildlife poaching is a major threat to key wildlife species in Zimbabwe. The growing and increased complexity of wildlife poaching not only affects our national economies but poses serious threats to the security of our countries and we therefore need to remain vigilant.

“We value the collaborative effort in the development of practical strategies to ensure the sustainability and viability of all natural resources. We pay tribute to rangers who lost their lives in the execution of duties and the Government of Zimbabwe is once again a pacesetter in efforts to create awareness of wildlife crime and to foster coordinated enforcement action that will be incorporated into mainstream long term strategies for biodiversity conservation at national level,” said Dr Mugabe.

She explained that Zimbabwe is priviledged to be one of the few countries in the world where large areas of land set aside as protected areas that still have viable populations of various species of endangered species of plants and animals.

“Issues related to addressing local community needs are of critical importance in curbing the illegal killing of wildlife,” she said.

Minister Kasukuwere said poisoning of wildlife was a major setback on conservation efforts by the country.

“We applaud the judiciary which gave deterrent sentences to the perpetrators of the callous activity without a flaw and we need not destroy what God gave us and it is a heritage to guard. The First Lady is a mother and her leadership are at the highest level for people to know that we won’t tolerate what happened last year,” he said.