25 Mar 2015

Hukuntsi Sub-district Council chairperson, Ms Goratwamang Tlhage has expressed concern over the increasing poaching cases in the Zutshwa area.

Addressing councillors during the Hukuntsi Sub-district meeting on March 22, Ms Tlhage said the sub-district continued to experience an increase in poaching incidences particularly in Zutshwa, where poaching had turned from sustenance to commercial.

She said there seemed to be a poaching syndicate that operated underground butcheries to sell poached game meat. Such activities, she said, escalated poaching activities in the region as poachers were engaged in excessive illegal hunting activities to meet their market demands.

Ms Tlhage noted that the formation of a community trust in Zutshwa had not addressed the poaching crisis; hence the department of wildlife had resorted to kgotla meetings and school out reaches to continue spreading conservation awareness information.

She applauded government for deploying anti-poaching personnel and related security in prone poaching areas across the country. But, she however, noted that the ultimate onus rest upon all Batswana, individually or collectively, to combat poaching and save wildlife resources.

Ms Tlhage also pleaded with councilors to educate their electorates on the importance of wildlife conservation and its significance towards the country’s economy.

She further highlighted that Human-Wildlife conflict remains prevalent in Kgalagadi North, adding that the Sub District received a total 42 cases of human-wildlife conflicts and over P139 000 was paid in the month of February as compensation to farmers.

She said only 15 cases were not compensated due to lack of funds. She highlighted that the Department of Wildlife was equally concerned by the human-wildlife conflict, and it had formulated strategies such as capturing and translocation of problematic animals and public awareness on proper animal husbandry against predation like herding and use of guard dogs in order to combat human-wildlife conflict. ENDS