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

THE SCOUTS

Without the funds to protect the little that is left, the remaining number of scouts continue to dwindle and the hardships faced by the dedicated few who remain is extreme. Charles Sainosi, a Chiredzi scout, reports, 'If we arrest one of the poachers in the area, they come in bulk to fight against us. They have axes, big knives and bow and arrows. I was beaten by 12 of the poachers and my ear-drums were perforated. I'm still having pains in my chest and back. I remember it was on the 9th of December 2000. I was on an ambush and at 6 o'clock two juveniles came to see the snares and were resetting them. As we came out of the ambush to catch them, a group of people came and captured us. A war veteran called Mucheve came up to me and asked who'd arrested the guys, I told him it was me and then they started to harass me and beat me. They used their fists, kicked me, and beat me with sticks as well.'

The man responsible for these beatings was arrested and a court date assigned. After twice failing to appear in court the hearing has now been postponed until December 3rd 2002!

Sainosi continues, 'The main reason they're fighting us is because we work for whites and they want the whites off the land. I'm here to protect the life of the animals and the property. This job is important to me because I am protecting animals for our children to see and to know our environment and our surroundings. It gets tourists to come from outside and brings in outside foreign currency. It helps at least 500 people and families on this conservancy with employment. I feel negative because the squatters are causing the land to be barren and deforestation is occurring - this means less rainfall in our country and this will lead it to becoming a desert. The main reason they are here is for poaching. Last year the poaching was not so aggressive as it is now. It's getting worse and worse. They may try to plant cotton and sunflower seeds but if there are bad years they'll stay and carry on poaching until every single animal is gone. I feel sad for these people too, they are victims, they are being used.'

Another scout told me, 'The other day they followed our tracks and chased us when they found us. There's a lot of intimidation, they use catapults and chase us away. We were on an ambush once, only two of us, and four poachers came. We'd disturbed one snare and we caught one guy trying to fix it. Then the other three chased us with axes. When they snare they always work in groups because they know they can then overwhelm any patrol. We arrested one guy last month and he paid a fine of Z$1000 (US$20) and then we caught him poaching again last week. They get a lot of money from selling their meat and some of the plot-holders employ others to poach for them.'