Dear
fellow conservationist
The following media release issued by the South
African National Parks on the 26th October 2016 contains some very
encouraging signs that the Kruger National Park’s counter poaching tactics are
reaping dividends.
SUCCESSFUL WEEK OF ARRESTS
IN THE KNP
South African National
Parks (SANParks) announced the arrest of 14 suspected poachers in the Kruger
National Park (KNP) in the past seven days. The arrests were a team effort by
the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), the South African Police
Services (SAPS) and SANParks.
The arrests are all related
to rhino poaching as all the suspects were found in possession of ammunition, 5
high calibre rifles and other poaching equipment. The 14 suspects were
apprehended in different sections of the KNP.
These poachers, who were
willing to compromise their morals for quick money, will now sit behind bars
for a significant period of time, their families will be without breadwinners
and will now be left in poverty. Crime does not pay.
These successes further
confirm the fact that the ongoing implementation of the KNP counter poaching
tactics including, dedicated and experienced Rangers on the ground, new
technologies and the Special Ranger Airborne response and in particular K9
tracking are paying dividends. Over the past 10 months the K9 units have successfully
tracked and taken down over 90% of the poachers arrested in the KNP.
The arrests were hailed as
a success by the Managing Executive in the KNP Glenn Phillips who said “We are
incredibly honoured to have such dedicated and committed Rangers and Protection
services officials who are committed to operate under extreme environmental
conditions to ensure the survival of these prehistoric animals and all other
fauna and flora. We want to make it clear to poachers and their handlers that
the Kruger is becoming a very dangerous place. Rangers are ready and waiting to
put you behind bars. We have a long way to go but we will not lose this fight.”
Issued by: South
African National Parks (SANParks) Corporate Communications: Tel: 012 426 5170
For those of you who have already donated
towards the “Save our Rhinos” initiative, thank you. For those who are still
considering making a donation, however small, please see the banking details for
the Amdec Group Rhino Project trust account below. Let’s make 2016 a bumper
year with donations exceeding the R125,000 donated by you in 2015. The Amdec
Group matched this last year and a cheque for R250,000 was handed over to the
SANParks Honorary Rangers; once again Amdec will match every donation made.
Regards
John Wilson
Chairman, The Amdec Group
Bank: First National Bank
Account Name: Amdec Investments (Pty) Ltd Trust
Account
Account No: 5016 118 0035
Branch: RMB Corporate Banking Cape Town
Branch Code: 250 655
Reference: Rhinos & Name of Donor