Zimbabwe Hopes Female Squad can Eliminate Poaching

The impact of the pandemic has increased wildlife poaching around Zimbabwe’s national parks, as people who lost their jobs hunt the animals for food.  To help protect the animals, anti-poaching organizations have been formed, including a squad of vegan, women rangers. The women are well-armed, and if they encounter poachers, they detain them, and turn them over to police for prosecution. Damien Mander, an Australian national and an Iraq war veteran, formed the Akashinga project. He says anti-poaching patrols will help preserve Africa’s wildlife, which has been under steady assault from poachers for decades. “It was a trial in the beginning on one reserve in northern Zimbabwe, we started with 16 women protecting 90,000 acres.  We now got 240 staff as part of this program. We now have eight reserves that we patrol. We are on target to have 1,000 staff by 2026,” he said. Tinashe Farawo, spokesman of the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, says the efforts of such conservation groups are helping to fight poaching in this wildlife-rich country.SOURCE: VOA