Rangers at the Kruger National Park have collected more than 1,600 illegal snares this year alone, and the crude devices are wreaking havoc on the wildlife in the world famous reserve.
Johan De Beer, K9 Manager and a Ranger at KNP, said they have seen a devastating rise of illegal hunting over the past two years due to the growing bushmeat trade in the area.
He says while trade in bush or wildlife meat is the primary driver of the snare poaching when they target hyena and lions, it is for the muti market.
De Beer has kept a buffalo skull which still has a snare on it to demonstrate how the animals are brutally caught in it.
He said the buffalo walked around with the snare stuck inside its skull for around four months.
Although De Beer couldn't give an exact number, he said he had to put down a lot of animals which were found with snares and debilitating injuries which meant they could not be saved.
While most poaching targets rhino and elephants, De Beer said the snares are usually meant for buffalo and impala. He said they sometimes also find bird and fish snares.
De Beer said the perpetrators usually set out their snares around rivers and drinking holes in the middle of the night and usually come back in the morning before the Rangers start patrolling.
He said sometimes lions and hyenas would come and grab the animals caught up in snares before either poachers or rangers could get there.
De Beer added that he is not happy with the sentences handed down to the offenders when they are caught.
Snare poaching is just one more assault on the wildlife riches the country's rangers are tasked to prevent.
- African News Agency (ANA),
