Poachers Wrecking Havoc on Zimbawe Wild life.

When Cecil the lion died at the hands of an America dentist Walter Palmer it ignited worldwide outrage, activists and high profile celebrities alike calling for his metaphorical (or literal) head.Virtual mobs where tanking Palmer's Yelp ratings, and real mobs left angry messages at his office, But the tragic death of one lion belies a much more widespread and serious problem affecting wildlife in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe a Southern African Landlocked nation is one of the hardest-hit places on the continent when it comes to the killing of big game, both illegal and legal. It is a nation where,

Slate reports, "hunters exported 49 lion trophies in 2013 alone" and where, since Cecil's death "it’s likely that at least a dozen other lions have been shot by trophy hunters."A 2013 study in the journal Public Library of Science estimates that 96 lions were hunted per year between 1996 and 2006 in the country and 43 per year more recently

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These disturbing statistics does not stop with lions .The Globe Wildlife Fund statistics estimates that poachers killed between 20 and 25 rhinos in the country in 2015, 50 rhinos in 2014 and 82 (the highest) in 2009, 59% of the rhino population in Zimbabwe and the DRC was killed between 2004 and 2006. Now, there are only 800 rhinos left in the entire country — compared to 2200 in the 1980s making poachers the worst and highest killers of wildlife.

As of late Elephants too have had a particularly difficult time,with a population of almost 85,000, the animal does not benefit from as much protection as other species.At Hwange National Park, where about half of the country's elephants live, in 2013 it was a site for the worst single massacre in southern African for 23 years when poachers poisoned watering holes with a poison called cyanide, killing as many as 320 elephants, many with their calves by their sides.

Poisons used by the poachers are cyanide and paraquat which is readily available in Zimbabwe. Paraquat, which was banned in the EU, is used by most farmers in Zimbabwe to kill grasses and weeds, while the cyanide-based solution is very common with Zimbabwe’s informal miners. Poachers prefer such poisons because they enable them to kill large mammals silently and quietly, without the rifle shots that would alert rangers to their location.

The Government has however responded to these illegal activities by issuing the shoot to kill policy to any poacher found in the national park .The government officials for Zimbabwe national parks had hoped that this strategy would deter poachers, but the value of ivory and the desperation of many poor rural Zimbabweans seem to outweigh the risks.

What is disturbing is that it’s not just the poor and impoverished villagers that are involved in these deadly poisonings. The global lucrativeness of the illegal ivory trade is well documented, and Zimbabwe is no different.Disgruntled rangers,top police officers and even mining directors, have all been implicated in elephant poisoning.So its left to all the international community to spread this awareness campaign and conserve our beautiful Fauna.

HELP SPREAD THIS AWARENESS CAMPAIGN AND PLAY A PART IN CONSERVING OUR FLORA AND FAUNA FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS

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