Gordon Homer, Peace Parks’ Project Manager for Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area and some of the team visiting from Peace Parks’ head office in Stellenbosch, are driving through Sioma Ngwezi National Park, Zambia, when they come across an old poaching camp. Made of twigs and string, Gordon explains that these snares would have been used for catching small birds such as franklin and spurfowl and eaten as an additional source of protein. He suspects that the snares were set whilst the poachers were more than likely harvesting Harpagophytum procumbens, more commonly known as devil’s claw. The roots of devil’s claw have been used in traditional medicine in southern Africa for many generations and are believed to contain anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties. In recent years, the plant has gained popularity all over the world and the demand is putting pressure on protected areas such as Sioma.
Despite being set to catch birds, these snares remain one of Africa’s most silent and deadly poaching methods, often trapping unintended victims such as small antelopes or predators. It is a prolonged and agonising struggle for the animal as it can be trapped for several days before succumbing to its injuries. Often, animals also break the snare’s anchor which leaves the string or wire tightly wrapped around their bodies, causing serious and likely fatal injury. Poachers will lay multiple snares in a well-used game area to maximise their chances of success, decimating the population of wildlife in the process.
Small-scale subsistence poaching remains a problem in many conservation areas as local communities are still dependent on nature for their survival. It is therefore important to understand and work with the needs of the community to develop alternative sources of sustenance to lessen the pressure on natural resources. There are also several educational programmes that teach about how having healthy numbers of animals can benefit the local communities as these conservation areas will become more attractive to tourism and, through this, create more employment opportunities.
Continuously working with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals in mind, Peace Parks and partners aim to help reduce hunger, achieve food security and improve nutrition. This is done through collaborating with the Simalaha communities through projects such as supplying Groasis food boxes which help to provide food security through the planting of fruit trees, and the Herding 4 Health programme, which improves soil through effective livestock management.
Peace Parks Foundation is very grateful to those who relentlessly patrol these vast areas looking for any signs of poaching, removing any snares or traps to help save the wildlife.
