17 Jun 2013

Catching of wild animals using wire snares is prevalent in private farms in the villages of Matsiloje, Ditladi, Matsitama, Patayamatebele and Matshelagabedi.

In an interview recently, Matsiloje police station commander, Superintendent Obert Manji said perpetrators were mostly boys and middle aged men and they seemed to be relentless about their exploits.

Superintendent Manji said in one of the recent cases, they caught three boys from Matsiloje committing the crime in one of the private farms. He said they were tried at the magistrate courts in Francistown and were each fined P700 or six months imprisonment if they default on payment.

To try and combat the crime, which involved trespassing and illegal hunting, the police officer said through the newly introduced cluster policing, they had engaged the community to assist in fighting crime. Through such partnership, they managed to engage in a patrol in one of the farms in which 54 wire snares where retrieved.

Supt Manji warned that it was dangerous for people to snare in private farms because once they were caught by owners of the farms, they might be taken for intruders, which may end in injury or even death.

He said the perpetrators cut the fencing materials, climbed over or go under the fence to gain entry into the farms. Sometimes they went to the point of cutting the wire and using it for their snares, he added.

As such, the law enforcer warned the illegal hunters to stop the habit because it puts their lives in danger. “You can never know what a person’s action about his property, especially if it he is not being wronged for the first time,” he warned.

So people should desist from trespassing into private farms, although owners did not have the right to shoot the perpetrators, they had authority to arrest them and hand them over to the police.

On other issues, Supt Manji observed that an increase in the number of overstaying illegal immigrants in his area of jurisdiction had become a disturbing practice, which was mainly encouraged by Batswana.

He said Batswana were the ones encouraging these people to overstay because they hired them, and once their working permits expired, they allowed them to stay illegally to continue assisting with daily chores.

“The reason why these cases are increasing daily is because our neighbours, mainly from Zimbabwe, are hard workers who do work on time with satisfying results, and that is why our Batswana tend to prefer them,” he reasoned.

He said if one was caught staying or having hired a person who overstayed, justice would take its cause, adding that they were holding 15 men and five women illegal immigrants from Zimbabwe who are facing a boarder jumping trial.  ENDS