The Impact Of Coronavirus On Poaching In Africa

“The media has been quick to attribute a rise in poaching to coronavirus, but we’ve got to be careful about drawing links without sufficient evidence. While there appears to have been a bit of a spike in some places, in Hwange and Kafue National Parks [in Zimbabwe and Zambia respectively] it may have happened regardless of coronavirus, as both have come out of their low season. In a normal year, high season would typically mean multiple vehicles going out for eight to 10 hours a day, which makes poaching risky. Now, however, the lack of tourism means that protection will be significantly reduced this year. 6park.com
Luckily, people working in wildlife management and law enforcement have been classed as essential workers across sub-Saharan Africa. This means rangers have still been on the ground, albeit with a more limited budget and scope than normal. In terms of our camps, the Scorpion AntiPoaching Unit in Hwange has the funds to continue operating for the next eight months. Normally, Wilderness Safaris supports them from operational profits, but with no revenue we’ve reached into our sustainability fund to keep it going, as well as repurposing money that was intended for new accommodation. 6park.com
The impact on local communities is going to be devastating. Huge proportions of communities depend on tourism, whether they run their own little transport business or sell curios, and now all that revenue has disappeared, so people are really struggling to buy food. This is only going to get worse. As that desperation increases, the need for things like bush meat and income from poaching will definitely escalate. 6park.com
While anti-poaching units remain crucial, a hardball approach across the board won’t work. Instead, getting food out to these people is one of the most effective interventions we can make. If we can carry them through, the industry will retain support from communities, which in many cases has been hard-won. Coronavirus has made crystal-clear the value of responsible, wildlife-based tourism.”

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