26 Jun SANParks Fight Against Poaching
The last few months have seen South African National Parks (SANParks) welcome several contributions for the fight against poaching which we hope will level the playing field and see even more success cases both in prevention and arrests.
South African Airlink has donated a hangar to accommodate some of the aircraft and vehicles used in anti-poaching efforts in the Kruger National Park (KNP) and surrounding areas. It already houses a helicopter, Bantam and a Cessna fixed wing and is expected to cut response time by almost an hour. Shortly after the official handover of the hangar on the 23rd July 2015, the helicopter and poaching reaction team responded to a poaching incident outside the KNP and managed to assist in the arrest of a suspect and recovery of ivory from a poached elephant.
Peace Parks Foundation donated a collection of top-of-the-range monocular night-vision equipment to the combined value of R 3.4 million in order to further assist against wildlife crime. Night vision has become a key opto-electronic technology in modern conflicts that take place in the dark. The new equipment allows for thermal imaging and high quality depth perception, whilst offering a comfortable and ergonomic size and shape. This will help ensure a safer working environment for the rangers as well as keep them one step ahead of the poachers. Peace Parks Foundation supports various projects that aim to stop or deter illegal activities on the ground; including destabilising the supply chain through interventions as a result of intelligence operations, as well as efforts to reduce market demand for illegally traded animal products.
Earlier this year also saw the Minister of Environmental Affairs hand over four forensic trailers to SANParks. The trailers will assist in the investigation of rhino poaching and wildlife crime in improving investigative capacity and crime scene management. For example, when urgent forensic sample results are required for bail hearings involving suspected poachers, it is vital the samples are processed to ensure that the evidence in question is not only acceptable, but delivered within a specified time frame for court purposes. Furthermore, correctly collected and handled samples meet chain of custody requirements critical for successful prosecution. This type of evidence can assist in among others, placing suspects at poaching crime scenes, identifying weapons used, and linking horns seized with rhino poached. The trailers have been equipped with, amongst others:
Generators
Mobile fridges in which to store genetic material
Metal detectors
Electronic callipers
Scales and knife sharpeners
In addition, funding from the UNEP-GEF Rhino Programme has also been utilised to provide advanced crime scene management training in November 2014 and further courses scheduled for this year. The provision of advanced crime scene management training is also one of the key areas highlighted in the Integrated Strategic Management of Rhinoceros. Furthermore, these training initiatives are currently being used to develop crime scene filming material to serve as visual supplementary training material for rhino crime scene investigators.
CEO of SANParks Fundisile Mketeni expressed his gratitude, “This is important in our anti-poaching drive as it means the luxury of time will not be on the side of the poachers. We owe it to our forefathers and future generations to preserve this natural heritage. I am inspired by this gesture and many others, that we will overcome this scourge of poaching.”