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Zimbabwe: 1,000 Elephants Killed
11 November 2013
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Over one thousand (1,000) elephants have been killed in Zimbabwe in less than 4 years 2008 to 2012, it has been reported. But this number is way below that of South Africa where in just twelve months elephants of the same number were slain by poachers.

This was revealed during Tourism Minister Walter Mzembi’s address to the international affairs think tank, Chatham House on Friday.
Below was part of his address on this issue:
Ladies and Gentlemen,

“Let me turn to the issues of ecological disaster that you might have read with respect to lacing of water holes and salt licks by cyanide in Hwange National Park, which is part of the Kavango Zambezi (KAZA) Transfrontier Conservation Area. The KAZA is the biggest wildlife sanctuary in the world with the largest population of elephants. Ordinarily, that makes wildlife a magnet for tourism development. However, the current trend of wildlife poaching using biological chemicals, present a huge challenge for us as a country and the Southern African region. It will undermine tourism economic growth. To this end, the death of more than 100 elephants in Hwange National Park, following collapse of conservation programmes due to underfunding and withdrawal of support by the international financial markets has created a huge gap on environmental security and sustainable biodiversity conservation in Zimbabwe.

Tourism Minister Walter Mzembi with UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai
Tourism Minister Walter Mzembi with UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai

“I wish to state that even when countries are in frosty relations, this should not affect the wildlife we hold so dear to our hearts as our global commons. The wild elephants, the rhinos, the buffaloes, the leopards, the lions, just to mention the Big Five, know no political differences and political boundaries. However, the question is, should we allow political differences to play game while biodiversity and conservation of our pristine flora and fauna are being decimated? I wish to share with you that the death of elephants in Hwange National Park of Zimbabwe, is a tip of the iceberg. We need to address the issues together to protect our ecosystems and all that is in it. Africa is suffering huge haemorrhaging and pillaging of wildlife resources due to increase demand of wildlife products in foreign markets in Asia, here in Europe and the Americas. In fact, there is indisputable empirical evidence, which show that biodiversity and wildlife in Africa face enormous threats. Consequently, these undermine tourism as a quick-win to stimulate accelerated development in Africa whose tourism is known to be dependent on pristine flora and fauna. The situation looks ruinous, take for example, the case of elephant population in Africa. According to Elephant Action League (www.http://elephantleague.org/the-ivory-curse/), by the beginning of the 19th Century, Elephants in North Africa were at 27 million, this number went down to 5 million at the beginning of the 20th century, dropped further to 1.3 million elephants in 1981, 700,000 in 1988, 600,000 in 1990 (when the international ban on ivory trade was then implemented), 500,000 by 1998, 400-500,000 now (with 35-40,000 elephants estimated to being killed each year). This trend of elephant carnage, as well as that of rhinos depletion, is solely due to poaching that reverses overall positive population growth in the long-term, which had been realised since ivory ban in 1990.

Brief country specific experiences
COUNTRY
NUMBER OF ELEPHANTS KILLED
YEAR
1.      Cameroon
500 elephants in Bouda N’Djida National Park were wiped off within a month.
From January-February 2012
2.      Sierra Leone
The entire elephant population was confirmed wiped out in 2011.
2011
3.      The Democratic Republic of Congo
In 48 hours in March 2012, 22 elephants were rounded up in Garamba National Park during helicopter-borne attack by professional poachers. (The use of helicopters is not new since this is suspected to have occurred in Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe in 2011).
2012
4.      Tanzania
Reports from research say poachers kill 30 elephants a day.
Day average
5.      Kenya
187 elephants were poached in 2010, 289 in 2011 and 384 in 2012. Encounters with poachers resulted in the killing of rangers including a pregnant ranger, F. Hadia Abae in 2012 who was in her line of duty.
2010, 2011 and 2012,
6.      South Africa
Prominent poaching targets mainly rhinos and elephants. In 2013, close to 1000 elephants were killed and for rhinos 333 were killed in 2010, 445 in 2011, 668 in 2012 and 637 as at 13 September 2013).
2010, 2011, 2012 and 13 Sept 2013
7.      Zimbabwe
Over 100 elephants were laced to death from June-August 2013, over 1000 elephants were killed from 2008-2012, and between 2009-2012, and 300 buffalos, 42 rhinos and 21 lions were also killed.
2013,2008-2012 and 2009-2012
Clearly, this form of environmental and ecological terrorism demands that we take action together for the cause of nature and sustainable development in Africa. Dealing with the signs and symptoms of decimation of wildlife, is intimately a tactical approach, while dealing with causes at varying levels is a strategic issue. Arising from this problem of wildlife poaching is my clarion call for renewed spirit to the extent that I have escalated to UNWTO as the current UNWTO Commission for Africa Chairman I preside over for the next three years, the need to assist African countries. This has been accepted. I therefore, appeal to concerned individuals, NGOs, Governments and the entire global conservation community and environmental philanthropies to take action in protecting the ‘global commons’ in Africa. It is my humble submission that during my tenure, as CAF Chairman, I focus on Tourism and Biodiversity as a legacy vision that I seek to plant in our midst, inspired by our UNWTO 2010 World Tourism Day theme on Tourism and Biodiversity. The running theme that I am appealing for collaboration and support for sustainable tourism driven development of our economies is on Tourism and Biodiversity: Zero Tolerance on Poaching in Africa by 2020.

10 Replies to “Zimbabwe: 1,000 Elephants Killed”

  2. @Brigadier General
    “…Poacher’s Front…” mapinda pachirongwa,bayezwa bantu bonke.
    @Cde Musvo (a.k.a cde Naked)
    ‘Vali ngebetshu’ Pfekai nguwo vakuru,
    What is the name of the doctor who recommended your discharge from Ingutsheni? I think your condition is seriously deteriorating, you need to go back for mental check-up. Hanzi wakatiza here kudii-dii. Uri kutotsvagwa ikoko manje so serious chaiyo, hand yourself over without further ado.
    But seriously,Mr Motor Mouth Musvo (M3 0r M23), spare onke amaShona ushlanyeni wodwa uyezwa/ ‘zvipengere uri by one”Go solo in your madness’

  3. Its staggereing, the country needs to act. The way the police and army deal with civil disturbances in urban areas is the same way they shold deal with this. Its a disaster the nation shouldnt just watch and wish would go away. This is where our security and tourism guys should be working together to stop this murderous behaviour, assuming they are not involved too! If its the Chinese and their Nigerian friends, chuck them out until they learn to leave our animals alone

  4. HONDO KURWA NE KUTUKA TSVANGIRAI…PASI NE ZANU PF ….IMBWA DZAPARADZA ZIMBABWE…….SMITH GAMBA REZIMBABWE TINOMUCHEMA NHASI……….NYIKA YEDU JUST IMAGINE IF SMITH WAS STILL RUNNING ZIMBABWE….TIGERE BHOO….KWETE MUBOYI…MUGABE MUNHU AKARASIKA IYEYE…CHAANOGONA KUPARADZA..KUTUKA…KUBA…UTSINYE….NEKUNGO POPOTA ZVISINA BASA

  6. Mugabe himself is the poacher in Chief whilst Zanu PF(Poachers’ Front) is a poaching syndicate disguised as a political party.Take out Zanu and see if we will have any more reports about poaching.

  7. I stand 2 think that people with the power 2 implement the law that wil protect these animal are the same people who a behind them being killed it just dont add up…

  8. I wonder why government doesnt impose a death sentence on elephant and rhino poaching. In china if ur caught with drugs ur automatically given the death sentence, the same should happen in Africa, especially Zimbabwe and SA where poaching is very high

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