ZIMBABWE - Destruction of wildlife, the environment and sensitive eco-systems

Invaders and invaded cont...

Peter Abbott, a member of the Bubiana Conservancy, has also been forced to abandon his ranch. In March 2000 the squatters trashed his extremely popular fishing lodge, ripping out the mirrors, smashing everything and stealing all the fittings. He had 1,400 bed nights booked for the rest of the year and it all had to be cancelled. On visiting the lodge, it appeared that the squatters have now begun removing all the thatch from the roof. 'You can't fight state machinery. There's no point going on and on, it's better to liquidate. The rhino are probably half what they were two years ago. Their habitat is being denuded daily.'

On Wasara Ranch in Chiredzi, the Warths are trying to get elephant-back safaris into the conservancy and have 2 adolescent elephants, which they are in the process of training. They moved onto the land 3 years ago when there was no game on the property. They've slowly been building it up, using their own money to bring in eland and giraffe. They can only afford 2 game guards who are continually being confronted by groups of 15-30 people. In October the scouts found 30 poachers driving game into nets. 'It's so sad, they're doing so much damage. It took years since the droughts to build up the game and it's still not up to the levels it should be, and now what's happening is worse than a drought, it's not selective, the strong are being taken out as well as the weak.'

Recently Theresa found a warthog that had been stabbed 30 times in the face as the poachers had tried to extract it from its burrow. The warthog was a pregnant female. The poachers had taken off the front and back leg and left the rest to rot.

The Warths had a number of community projects they were in the process of implementing before the invasions took place. All the projects have had to be shelved. A building on the farm has been taken over by the squatters and is being used as a 'shebeen' and store. Recently 3 bundles of poached game meat were found dumped at the store and in the process of being sold. Gary went to investigate and was attacked by one of the poachers with a pick handle when he tried to take back the meat. It's since then that the farm has been burnt out. 'The damage that's been done is not only going to effect the country in the short term, it's going to take at least 20 years for this land to recover.'