Safari Journal - March 2020
PREEMPTING POACHERS - the new frontier
THIS SERIES WILL BE POSTED BI-MONTHLY. WE WILL BE PRESENTING THE MOST CURRENT EFFORTS AND TECHNOLOGY BEING USED TO DETECT POACHERS BEFORE THEY ENDANGER PROTECTED ANIMALS.
Muslim Council Issues Fatwa Against Poaching - Malaysia
Concern over the fate of the critically endangered Malayan tiger inspired religious leaders in the Malaysian state of Terengganu to issue a fatwa prohibiting Muslims from illegally hunting wildlife. A Malaysian state’s religious ban on illegal hunting mirrors one Indonesia issued last year.
If a country wants to crack down on wildlife crime, it usually focuses on strong laws, effective enforcement, and widespread public support. But if those don’t work, there’s another tool in the box: religion.
By: Jani Actman
Photography by: VPC Animals Photo/Alamy Stock Photo
Google Helps WWF Stop Wildlife Crime
A new grant provides funding for state-of-the-art technology to protect tigers, rhinos and elephants
Wildlife in crisis
Increasing demand for wildlife from wealthy consumers, especially in Asia, is fuelling a poaching crisis that is emptying the world’s forests and oceans. High profits and low risks have allowed wildlife crime to multiply into an illegal trade worth $7-10 billion annually.
Drones Are Helping Catch Poachers Operating Under Cover of Darkness
“Eighty percent of poaching happens under the cover of darkness.” says Otto Werdmuller Von Elgg, the head of a pioneering group of conservationists, entrepreneurs and researchers called Air Shepherd. His team is using a high-tech combination of airborne drones and artificial intelligence (AI) to find poachers at night, tipping the scales in conservationists’ favor. “We’re going to take the nighttime back,” he adds. Air Shepherd has worked in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Malawi; it’s about to launch in Botswana as well.
A poacher uses tall grass to hide from the park service in Kruger National Park South Africa. An infrared camera on the drone makes him easily identifiable.
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Botswana Predator Conservation Trust
For over two decades, the Botswana Predator Conservation Trust has been working to study and preserve wildlife in Africa.
Tusk's approach to conservation recognizes that the long term future for wildlife and Africa's other natural resources is dependent on sustainable rural development. more... Tusk believes that if conservation is to succeed and environmental degradation to be reversed then education needs to be promoted at an early age.
Cheetah Conservation Botswana (CCB) aims to preserve the nation’s cheetah population through scientific research, community outreach and conservation education, working with rural communities to promote coexistence with Botswana’s rich diversity of carnivore species.
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