Poaching of game in South Africa is a serious offence as certain animals are considered endangered species. Three men in Limpopo province learnt the errors of their way when they were nabbed for allegedly poaching a crocodile and a vulture in Limpopo on 27 August.
The Limpopo police and Sekhukhune KNP (Kruger National Park) members undertook a joint operation leading to the arrest of three men in the Mbaula Village in Giyani.
The men aged between 29 and 38 years old are expected to appear before the Giyani Magistrate’s Court on 29 August on charges of possession of game.
Whistleblowers informed police of game poaching
Limpopo police received a tip-off about suspected poachers in the Giyani area and conducted an investigation.
Limpopo police spokesperson, Colonel Malesela Ledwaba, said: “They accurately followed the leads, which resulted in the arrest of the suspects. They were found at separate locations in the Village. During the arrests, police recovered fresh crocodile skin and a dead vulture.”
Upon questioning the suspects police were led to a nearby river. Police reportedly discovered a full skinless crocodile carcass.
Earlier this month, the South African reported on the conservation group, Wildlife Act, stepping up its awareness campaign on vulture protection in KwaZulu-Natal.
Spokesperson for the Wildlife Act, Megan Whittington, indicated that the organisation was concerned over vultures being poisoned in Zululand for the use of muti.
She said the organisation received many reports of vultures being poisoned in the Zululand area. According to Whittington, the tree nesting and African white back vultures were targeted.
“When we investigate, we will find that they die due to deliberate poisoning or other causes. How we identify deliberate poisoning is by finding the carcass of a cow or goat in an unusual area. The poison is packaged in a certain way that indicates a deliberate intervention [to poison] ,” said Whittington.
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