The Elephant Sanctuary, Hohenwald, Tennessee

Government continues to broaden community participation in the management of natural resources through community based natural resources management programme.

Trade and industry minister Jacob Nkate said this at the North West District community based natural resources management forum held at Riley's Hotel in Maun last week.

Nkate said in an effort to promote such participation, government set aside P8.1 million for training, legal assistance and technical advice.

He said at the 10th CITES conference in Zimbabwe, a decision was reached that all funds from ivory sales to Japan would be used exclusively for elephant conservation and development projects for the communities living
within the elephant range.

The minister noted that the project would add value to conservation and people would appreciate wildlife as a natural resource.Participants were informed that as a result a Conservation Trust Fund (CTF) was established and a board of trustees appointed to run it.

On the funding of community projects, Nkate said assistance would be made with the community required to bear part of the cost, especially for communities with established trusts, and those without funds would be channelled through the village development committees (VDCs).

He informed the forum that funds have been made available and will soon be released for use towards the Okavango Delta management plan. Noting that the project will last for 39 months and co-ordinated through the National Conservation Strategy Co-ordinating Agency.

The aim would be to enable sustainable tourism development within the Okavango Delta and ensure community participation and that they benefit from improved CBNRM.

He said government had formulated laws protecting the environment, wildlife and conservation and other policies that ensures the smooth running of the CBNRM programme.

Nkate said the aim of the forum was to provide a platform for dialogue, support and co-ordination, and bring together all stakeholders on an equal footing and neutral ground.

Minister Nkate told participants that the forum would provide them with an opportunity to review the accomplishment of CBNRM programme in the district, which was introduced as a pilot project in the Chobe enclave in 1989.

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Wild elephant trade continuing

News24, South Africa
20/03/2003 Johannesburg

Seven young, wild elephants have been removed from their herds in a private game reserve in the North West province and are being held pending export to foreign zoos, the NSPCA said on Thursday. Inspector Rick Allan of the National Council of SPCAs said the elephants had been found on Wednesday on the premises of Mafunyane, an animal trading firm in the province. Allan said: "Unconfirmed reports indicate that the destination of some of these young elephants may be a Mexican zoo. The dealer is allegedly a Canadian national."

The NSPCA also visited African Game Services, an animal trading firm owned by Riccardo Ghiazza, one of those accused of cruelty to animals in the long-running Tuli elephants case. Allan said while it was not illegal to put wild elephants in zoos - provided permits to do so were issued by provincial nature conservation departments - it was cruel to do so. Exporting wild elephants also raised ethical concerns, Allan said.

"Africa is being used as the source of elephants to re-stock zoo populations. If zoos play a conservation role as a genetic resource, then, surely it should be the other way round. Our concerns begin with the point of capture and forcible removal from their mothers and herds through to transportation, method of training and facilities at the end-destination." "Even if legal requirements have been met and the planned export is within the law, the moral and ethical issues remain."

The elephants were condemned to a lifetime of captivity without the companionship of animals from their own herds and in conditions and climates which might not be comparable to their natural environment.

Allan said the NSPCA had repeatedly requested copies of the permits issued by the North West Province Nature Conservation relating to the elephants in question, but had not received them by Wednesday afternoon. Deon Swart, deputy director of conservation services in North West, said the permits had been issued.

He could not explain why they had not yet reached the NSPCA, nor why they could not be faxed to them, but insisted that "they were in the process" and would reach the NSPCA soon. Swart insisted that his department had a good relationship with the NSPCA.

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Nakatindi Queries Lease of Parks to SA Firm
The Times of Zambia (Ndola)
March 19, 2003
Times Reporter

GOVERNMENT was yesterday taken to task for allegedly entering into negotiations to lease two national parks to a South African company over a 25-year period.

Sesheke MP, NAKATINDI WINA(UPND) said yesterday she had information that Government was negotiating the lease of Sioma Ngwezi and Liuwa Plains national parks to African Parks Management and Finance.

Rising on a point of order in Parliament, Mrs Wina said the information she had was that the South African company would run all the affairs at the two parks.

"The company shall grant lodge concessions for private use and sell locally or export live animals as a means of generating income.

"Government shall also accord the company complete powers of law enforcement in the two national parks," she said.

She said the documents she had also indicated that Government had undertaken to grant the company duty and sales tax exemptions on all imports of equipment, motor vehicles and fuel.

Mrs Wina added that Government was also ready to capture animals in other national parks and game management areas on behalf of the firm to stock Sioma and Liuwa parks.

"The Government shall transport animals ranging from elephants to hyenas from designated national parks in Kafue, Luangwa, lower Zambezi, Kasanka, Blue Lagoon and Lochnivar to restock the two parks on behalf of the two companies," she said.

She said her point of order was of serious national interest, especially that the South African company would only pay $4 million.

She called on chairman of committees, MKHONDO LUNGU to make a ruling. Mr Lungu said, however, that he needed to study the document that Mrs Wina had laid on the table before making a ruling on the matter.

Vice-President, ENOCH KAVINDELE who was speaking when Mrs Wina raised the point of order said he was not aware of such negotiations as only the Finance minister could give such concessions.

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WILD ELEPHANT TRADE UNABATED
RE-STOCKING ZOO POPULATIONS OVERSEAS

MEDIA STATEMENT
WEDNESDAY 19 MARCH 2003
CONTACT SENIOR INSPECTOR RICK ALLAN ON 011-907-3590
OR 082 588 4119 - outside South Africa please dial +27-11-907-3590 or
+27-82 588 4119

The NSPCA has uncovered that young elephants have been removed from their herds and have been taken to holding facilities in South Africa’s North West Province: - allegedly awaiting export to overseas zoos. The elephants were captured at Sandhurst Safaris and were taken to African Game Services and Mafunyane pending the export.
Seven young wild-caught elephants destined for export were at the Mafunyane property when NSPCA personnel visited the property on 18 March 2003. Unconfirmed reports indicate that the destination of some of these young elephants may be a Mexican zoo. The dealer is allegedly a Canadian national.

NSPCA personnel visited African Game Services on 18 March 2003. The NSPCA had extracted information from the North West Province Nature Conservation. The NSPCA has repeatedly requested copies of the permits issued by the NW Province Nature Conservation relating to the elephants in question. At the time of releasing this media statement, copies of the permits had not been received.

NSPCA Inspectors were told by Mr Riccardo Ghiazza during this visit to his property that the elephant was for exportation but did not disclose the destination. The NSPCA report on the visit stated: - “The elephant observed appeared very small and wild. It ran a pattern of in and out of the brick housing and would storm at us, flapping the ears and trumpeting.”

The NSPCA reiterates its opposition to the capture of animals in the wild to be placed in captivity.

In addition to extremely serious welfare issues and concerns, there are ethical matters. The NSPCA’s Senior Inspector Rick Allan stated: “Africa is being used as the source of elephants to re-stock zoo populations. If zoos play a conservation role as a genetic resource, then, surely it should be the other way round. Our concerns begin with the point of capture and forcible removal from their mothers and herds through to transportation, method of training and facilities at the end-destination..”

“Even if legal requirements have been met and the planned export is within the law, the moral and ethical issues remain. We oppose. We believe that the mores of Society indicate the unacceptability of such trade in wild animals - condemning them to a lifetime of captivity without the companionship of theirown kith and kin and in conditions and climate which may not be comparable to their natural environment.”

“This is the 21st century. Videos, the Internet, travel programmes and even international travel at affordable prices are available as alternatives to condemning wild animals to a lifetime of captivity. Wild animals belong in the wild. Young elephants belong with their mothers and herds.”

“We are saddened beyond belief”.

The verdict in the Tuli elephant case is due to be handed down on Monday 07 April 2003. Mr Riccardo Ghiazza / African Game Services and Wayne Stockigt stand accused.

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One Killed, At Least 4 Others Injured in Gun Battle With Anti-Poaching Unit
The Herald (Harare)
March 18, 2003
Harare

A poacher was shot dead and between four or five others fled when they exchanged gunfire with an anti-poaching task force in the Tashinga National Park in Kariba last Saturday.

In what has been described as a gun battle fit only for the movies or real wars, the poachers had launched an attack on an air-borne reinforcement unit that had been called to assist the anti-poaching unit in the park.

The foreign poacher, aged 30, and his five accomplices, all armed with AK rifles and butcher's knives, had sneaked into the park to hunt elephant and other animals for game meat on Saturday morning.

But according to police, some villagers spotted the poachers and the task force consisting of members of the Zimbabwe National Army, National Parks wardens and members of Zimbabwe Air Force was called in.

Before the contact with the task force, the poachers had killed several animals that included white bucks and water bucks.

At around 2pm the poachers took a rest under some trees and were busy preparing their lunch of roasted meat when the ground-tracking unit spotted them.

That unit communicated with its air-borne mates and before the poachers had tasted their lunch, a helicopter was hovering up above.

The surprised poachers, some of whom had put their feet up their bags and were resting like people in a five-star resort hotel, jumped to their feet when the chopper approached.

Police spokesman Inspector Andrew Phiri said the poachers took cover behind some bushes and shot at the helicopter, which lost control but managed to lower two soldiers to the ground before landing.

Three of the poachers continued firing from the bush to cover for three others who had taken to their heels with a sack suspected to have been full of animal bodies and tusks.

"The other three continued shooting for a few minutes before taking to their heels when the return fire became overwhelming," Insp Phiri said.

He said one of the poachers, believed to be from either Mozambique or Zambia, was shot in the back and died on the spot.

"It was a war situation and there was no need for the four golden rules of shooting. The poachers were prepared for anything and the task force were left with no choice but to shoot at the target."

The deceased poacher was found in possession of elephant tusks and animal skins and it is not yet clear if they had been illegally acquired from this national park.

"The whole area is now sealed with the units and we believe one of the two poachers who escaped was shot and injured and are still hiding somewhere within the park," Insp Phiri said.

Tashinga National Park, situated in the Susama area in Siakobvu, is home to notorious poachers who come all the way from Zambia, DRC and Mozambique.

As a result animals such as elephants and the rhinocerous remain an endangered species due to illegal hunting activities by both locals and foreign poachers.

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Lands Office for Koibatek
The East African Standard (Nairobi)
March 13, 2003 Nairobi

Plans are already in place to open a Lands office at Koibatek.

The office will issue title deeds and provide other services to the residents, Assistant Minister for Lands and Settlement Orwa Ojode said in response to a question by Mogotio Member Joseph Korir (Kanu). Ojode said consultations are at an advanced stage to identify a suitable office for the officers who were posted there last year.

Korir said his constituents have to travel to Kabarnet, the Baringo District headquarters, to be assisted. A Lands office has not been opened in Koibatek District since it was hived off Baringo District almost a decade ago.

The Kenya Wildlife Service has erected 27 km elephant proof fence around the Kinna community in Isiolo to ensure that animals within Meru/Bisanadi Game Reserve are contained.

The Minister for Environment, Natural Resources and Wildlife Newton Kulundu said KWS is currently in the process of erecting 55 km of fence along its western and northern boundaries.

The minister was answering a question by Isiolo South MP Abdulla Bahari Ali (Kanu).

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Now Munda Wanga's Phoenix Elephant to Return to the Wild
The Times of Zambia (Ndola)
March 8, 2003
By Lee Stewart And Catherine Phiri

IF there is one thing that has made Munda Wanga zoo popular in the recent past, it must be the two-year-old elephant, Phoenix.

In newspapers, magazines, on radio and even on the Internet, stories have kept flowing in enquiring about the baby elephant that was adopted by the zoo.

Phoenix, as the wild animal came to be called later, has drawn tens of thousands of local and international tourists to Munda Wanga because it has acted as a figurehead to wildlife conservation and education efforts at the park and sanctuary.

But the management at the zoo is now likely to gain even more respect, credibility and popularity with its decision to reintroduce the wild animal back to where it was taken from -- the wild.

Phoenix first came to the zoo some two years ago as an orphaned elephant. In February this year, the baby elephant celebrated her second birthday.

Recently the baby elephant was honoured with a visit from Melanie Shepherd, whose tireless efforts, along side Father David and those working for David Shepherd Conservation Foundation (DSCF) British office, have provided the funds to keep the baby Phoenix alive, fit and healthy.

Melanie's visit was not just about a cute, cuddly story and spools of film to take home to her friends and family. It was about the future of Phoenix.

Where she will go, when she will make the trip to the bush, how long the introduction will take, and the exact way in which her story will unfold is yet undecided but what is known is that the David Shepherd Conservation Foundation is set to invest its time, efforts and funds to see Phoenix and others like her back in the wild.

Other companies in Zambia contributed immensely to baby Phoenix's welfare.

Among these were Phoenix Contractors which sponsored the new holding pens at the sanctuary, Link Pharmacy provided vitamin tablets and coconut oil, Wyeth of South Africa provided the milk formula at a reduced price while Baby Boon helped with the transportation of the milk formula from South Africa to Zambia.

To survive, the orphaned Phoenix, who is now 1.4 metres tall and approximately half that much in breadth, needed 24 litres of milk formula a day, a few kilogrammes of fruits and vegetables, mattresses and blankets, coconut oil baths and 24-hour supervision.

This meant that showers, vitamins and minerals had to be in constant supply and paramedics and vets had to be on a 24-hour standby.

And now that the elephant is two years old and able to survive on its own, management is making plans to "wean" it from its Mundawanga "family" and reintroduce or return it to the wild.

Munda Wanga has, in the recent past been home to many wild animals that could not have otherwise survived in the bush either because of their injuries or being orphaned at a tender age.

The decision by management to release Phoenix back into the wild is likely to change the perception of many wildlife conservationists who condemn zoos for imprisoning wild animals.

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Councillors urge govt to lobby CITES
04 March, 2003
Botswana Daily News Online

North West District councillors have urged government to lobby CITES to allow Botswana to cull its large elephant population and use the products to create employment and alleviate poverty.

Speaking in a full council meeting addressed by Department of Wildlife and National Parks deputy director Isaac Theophilus on elephant management in Maun last week, Thamalakane South councillor John Benn described CITES as a "monster" that deprived Batswana of a livelihood.

He said if it were not for CITES, Botswana might open an abattoir to process elephant products such as pet food for sale at home and abroad, thus creating employment and earning Batswana foreign exchange.

Nominated councillor Vistor Moruti said Botswana was being punished because of poor wildlife management practices in some countries.

He said Botswana's good work in conservation was not being recognised. Moruti urged government to lobby CITES with the same vigour "the diamonds for development's campaign has been undertaken" so as to be allowed to cull elephants whose population has grown tremendously.

He said if the numbers were not brought down elephants would destroy the very habitat they live on.

Deputy council chairperson Pelokgale Monyame questioned the role of Safari companies in lobbying CITES.

He said he was not convinced that they spoke with one voice with the government. Monyame said he suspected that safari companies were frustrating government efforts because they stood to gain from a large elephant population as that would attract more tourists.

Councillor Gibson Nshimwe of Plateau, suggested that to reduce the elephant/human conflict fences must be built to separate them and that CITES must be persuaded to allow culling.

He also urged the Department of Wildlife Department and National Parks to increase the quota for annual trophy hunting. Councillor John Setshego of Beetsha, said because of the large elephant population, Batswana were falling into destitution.

He said even those who could survive independently were starving because elephants destroyed their fields. Besides destroying fields the jumbos had become a menace to the community as they continued to kill and threaten more lives.

Some councillors suggested that translocation be undertaken to reduce pressure on some areas, while others suggested contraception.

Theophilus had earlier told councillors that a consultancy had been engaged to review the 1991 elephant management plan.

He said the elephant population in Botswana was now estimated at 120 000, thus problems such as human/elephant conflict and environmental degradation were more pronounced.

The review, he said, was meant to address those problems. Responding to some comments, Theophilus said CITES allowed the use of elephant products for non-commercial purposes and that the annual quotas for trophy hunting were the discretion of the department in consultation with CITES.

He also wondered whether an abattoir for elephant products could be viable for a small market such as Botswana as CITES does not allow international trade in such products. The deputy director told councillors that CITES was made up of a number of countries and for a resolution to be adopted two thirds must be in favour.

The hunting and commercialisation of elephant products was banned by CITES following the dwindling numbers in some countries because of poaching for ivory. However, at a recent CITES convention in Chile, Botswana was allowed to sell 20 tonnes of the 33 it had stockpiled.

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ACTION ALERT: Help Keep Wild African Elephants Safe from the Zoo Industry - Feb. 28, 2003

Despite pronounced controversy, the cruel capture and export of 11 wild elephants in Swaziland to the San Diego Zoo and Lowry Park Zoo is scheduled for May. The move comes despite an announcement made last September by Swaziland's minister of tourism that the elephants would not be removed and that any move to sell them would violate the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

Family unit, Swaziland The 12-year-old elephants are roaming freely with their families on the 74,130-acre Hlane Royal National Park. In exchange for a "donation" to the Swazi park, the elephants will be ripped from beautiful savannas and fields of umbrella-shaped trees, shoved into transport containers, and carted halfway around the world where they will spend the rest of their lives in small, barren zoo enclosures that could never simulate their natural habitat.

At least 79 African elephants, most captured in the wild, have died in North American facilities since 1990, and not a single death was from old age. In fact, 95 percent never even reached age 40, far short of their 70-year life expectancy. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has offered to assist in translocating these elephants to another free-roaming area in Africa if the Hlane Royal National Park feels it is necessary to reduce their elephant population.

!What You Can Do:
Please urge Swaziland leaders to cancel plans to capture these elephants and send them to U.S. zoos. Let them know that your African adventure vacations will exclude Swaziland if the export goes through. (From the U.S., postage is 80"):

His Majesty King Mswati III
King of Swaziland
Lozitha Palace
Mbabane
Kingdom of Swaziland
011.26.8.518.4468 Fax

His Excellency Dr. Barnabas Sibusiso Diamini
Prime Minister of Swaziland
Office of the Prime Minister
Capital Hill
PO Box 395
Mbabane
Swaziland
011.26.8.404.3943 Fax

Stella Lukhele, Minister
Tourism, Environment & Communications
Government of Swaziland
PO Box 58
Mbabane
Swaziland
011.26.8.404.1719 Fax

Ambassador Mary M. Kanya
Embassy of the Kingdom of Swaziland
1712 New Hampshire Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20009
202.234.5002 Telphone
202.234.8254 Fax

Please also contact the zoos and urge them to immediately cancel plans to capture wild African elephants from Swaziland or any other area in Africa. Also be sure to take the San Diego Zoo to task for its plan to discard its older, unwanted elephants. Please tell the zoo that it has the obligation to keep these friends together and provide for their lifetime care.

Douglas Myers, Executive Director
San Diego Zoo
PO Box 120551
San Diego, CA 92112
619.231.1515 Telephone
619.231.0249 Fax
Email: Dmyers@sandiegozoo.org

C. Lex Salisbury, President and CEO
Lowry Park Zoological Garden
7530 North Blvd.
Tampa, FL 33604
813.935.8552 Telephone
813.935.9486 Fax
Email: Lex.Salisbury@lowryparkzoo.or

Also contact the American Zoo and Aquarium Association to uge them to immediately implement a policy that forbids the future import of wild elephants for U.S. zoos.

Syd Butler, Executive Director
American Zoo and Aquarium Association
8403 Colesville Rd.
Silver Spring, MD 20910
301.562.0777 Telephone
301.562.0888 Fax
Email: Sbutler@aza.orgIn Defense of Animals

In Defense of Animals
131 Camino Alto
Mill Valley, CA 94941
415.388.9641
www.idausa.org

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SA, Mozambique And Swaziland Agree On Cross-Border Conservation - Feb. 26, 2003 African Eye News Service (Nelspruit)
February 26, 2003
By Craig Elyot
Pietermaritzburg

The establishment of cross-border conservation areas between South Africa, Mozambique and Swaziland has come a step closer to becoming reality.

The KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) conservation management agency, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, was appointed as the main agency for three of the four trans-frontier conservation areas (TFCAs) that will preserve migration routes and bio-diversity between the three countries.

Ezemvelo will be the main agency for the TFCA from Ponto do Ouro in Mozambique to the Kosi Bay coastal park in KZN, the Ndumo/Tembe/Futi corridor, which is a reserve linking two reserves in South Africa to the Maputo elephant reserve in Mozambique and the Nsubane/Pongola area between South Africa and Swaziland.

Mozambican and Swazi conservation authorities will be responsible for the Goba project area that will link the two countries.

Conservationists have argued that since international borders cut through eco-systems, cross-border conservation areas are an important conservation goal.

In June last year stakeholders agreed to establish a commission to lead the process of setting up cross border conservation areas with delegates from all three countries.

The three South African delegates comprise members of the department of environmental affairs and tourism, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and the Greater St Lucia Wetland park authority.

Last week, Ezemvelo officials met with their counterparts from Mozambique and Swaziland and agreed to compile a concept development plan for each project area by the end of March for approval by April.

The objectives will include re-establishing ecological migration routes for animals that have previously been hampered by borders. They will also emphasise the economic and social benefits for communities in the areas adjacent to the parks.

There is also a need to determine the definition of TFCA areas.

The plans will be handed to each country's minister for ratification after the commission has approved them.

The international Peace Parks Foundation has offered financial assistance to facilitate parts of the project.

"We were very pleased to be part of this very exciting initiative," said director of conservation partnerships and projects for Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, Derek Potter. "We look forward to establishing mutually beneficial structures and to create meaningful partnerships between our countries."

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Kenya Up In Arms Over Ivory - February 25, 2003
February 25, 2003
News 24

Nairobi - Kenya has renewed a protest at last November's decision by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) to allow limited ivory trade, after wildlife authorities here seized 33 raw elephant tusks.

"The seizure of ivory underscores the dangers of reopening international ivory trade and lifting the ban on such trade," Kenyan Environment and Natural Resources Minister Newton Kulundu told a press conference in Nairobi, where the tusks were displayed.

"It confirms our fears that the decision taken by Cites sends out signals to poachers, dealers, traders and everyone involved in the illegal trade, that the markets have reopened and we will always see an increase in poaching and trafficking of ivory," Kulundu said.

Kulundu said the "presence of several arms in the neighbouring countries, has increased poaching in Kenya and now threatens to wipe out the remaining 27 000 elephants".

The Kenyan Wildlife Services (KWS) anti-poaching squad, working on a tip-off, on Sunday intercepted a Land Cruiser bakkie carrying 351kg of 33 tusks in Marsabit district, near Kenya's border with Ethiopia and arrested five people, due to appear in court on Wednesday.

"They were transporting them to lucrative tourist markets in Ethiopia and eventually to Egypt and the Asian countries," said Cites co-ordinator in KWS, Paula Kahumbu.

Last November, the 12th Cites conference in Santiago, Chile, allowed Namibia, South Africa and Botswana to sell off their ivory stockpiles amounting to 60 tons, a decision that vexed Kenya.

Losing elephants

"We maintain our belief that the decision taken in Santiago was premature and that, although they concerned countries at the end of the continent, we are losing elephants as a direct result," KWS Director Michael Wamithi said in a statement.

Wamithi said KWS will be intensifying its security operations using latest technology, enhance co-operation with neighbouring countries to hunt poachers and lobby for tough anti-poaching legislation.

"Kenya will seek in the next Cites meeting to define the terms of ivory trade and market routes and also ensure that countries that have lost elephants because of ivory do not play consumers to its (ivory) end products," Kahumbu said.

"Japan, China and other Asian nations are the largest Ivory markets, and they should take responsibility for the death of elephants," she added.

According to Kahumbu, KWS has stored up to 27 tons of Ivory which have been seized since 1989 and will be donated on a non-commercial basis to non-governmental organisations (NGOs), to take to museums around the world, with the collected used to conserve wildlife.

KWS maintains that the Cites decision has so far endangered elephants in Africa, especially in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the pachyderms are heavily poached.

"Unless something is done, DRC is going to lose its elephants after which they will be fully moving to Kenya that has 27 000 elephants," Kahumbu warned. - Sapa-AFP

------------------

Five Held As Elephant Tusks Are Recovered
The Nation (Nairobi)
February 26, 2003
By Nation Reporter
Nairobi

Thirty three elephant tusks weighing 361 kilogrammes have been recovered as they were being transported to Ethiopia.

Kenya Wildlife Service security men also arrested five suspected poachers, found in possession of Sh127,935, which the Environment minister, Dr Newton Kulundu, said was meant to bribe their way to Addis Ababa. Also recovered was giraffe meat.

The suspects will be charged in court today, the deputy head of Wildlife Investigations, Mr Julius Mwandai, said.

Dr Kulundu said that Kenya would continue to oppose campaigns to lift the ban on ivory trade as he displayed the ivory at the KWS headquarters in Nairobi.

"The seizure underscores the dangers of reopening international trade in ivory," he said.

Last October, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), held its 12th conference in Santiago, Chile, and voted to allow a one-off sale of stockpiled ivory from South Africa, Botswana and Namibia, subject to some conditions.

The minister said the move sent signals to poachers, dealers and traders involved in the illicit trade that the markets were about to open.

"We maintain our belief that the decision was premature," he said.

Since 1989, 27 tons of ivory have been recovered and though in the past they were set ablaze, the minister said they would be donated to a Trust Fund, which would display them in museums and the money raised used in wildlife conservation.

Dr Kulundu said the recovery of the ivory was a clear indication of what would happen to elephant conservation if the ban was lifted.

The intercepted ivory was targeted for the black market in Ethiopia.

The suspects were found with Sh127,935 which was meant to bribe their way through to Ethiopia, Dr Kulundu said.

Dr Kulundu said KWS officers acting on a tip-off laid ambush at Laresoro for two days and two nights and on Sunday, at midnight, a green Toyota Landcruiser emerged and on checking it was found carrying the ivory.

Also recovered was giraffe meat.

Dr Kulundu was accompanied by Permanent Secretary Rachel Arunga and KWS Director Mr Michael Wamithi.

The suspects will be charged in court today, Deputy Head Wildlife Investigations Julius Mwandai said.

Mr Wamithi said that KWS investigations had discovered that at least 22 elephants killed by poachers in the region over the past one year "although it is not known whether the tusks found in this seizure came from those animals or from more recent killings".

Dr Kulundu said the KWS personnel would be increased by at least 400 and equipped with more sophisticated weapons.

He said currently one warden was charged with 72 square kilometres, an area he said was too expansive for effective management.

Isiolo, Laikipia and Marsabit districts have the largest elephant population outside protected areas, Mr Wamithi said.

The area has high levels of conflict and locals possess firearms. The highest numbers of poaching were recorded in Samburu and Laikipia last year, according to KWS.

Kenya has an elephant population of about 25,000. And Dr Kulundu said if the lift on the ban of ivory trade comes true, it will only take a year to clear elephants in the country.

Mr Wamithi said although the latest seizure presented a significant breakthrough for KWS and vindicated its well resourced and efficient anti-poaching operations, "we can only guess what is going on undetected in other less policed countries".

He said "Only when consumers understand that their thirst for ivory directly threatens the survival of the species and ivory markets vanish for good, perhaps then we will be able to declare elephants safe".

In 2000, 137 kilogrammes were found buried in Isiolo and some 400 others recovered in a Nairobi airport.

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Time Running Out for Swaziland to Sell Elephants to U.S. Zoos
James Hall
Inter Press Service News Agency
February 21, 2003

MBABANE - Time is running out for Swaziland to sell eleven ''orphaned'' elephants to zoos in the United States, even if the sale means incurring the wrath of powerful animal rights organisations.

"Elephants are big, beautiful animals, but they can be destructive to eco-systems,'' Kenneth Dube, a game ranger at Hlane Royal Game Reserve, told IPS.

The position of the Big Game Parks of Swaziland, a private collection of three animal reserves whose unofficial but powerful patron is King Mswati III, is that too many elephants are ruining the habitats of other wildlife, including some endangered species.

After word leaked that two U.S. zoos wished to purchase eleven surplus elephants from Swaziland, the powerful American animal welfare group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) expressed its opposition in letters to King Mswati and Tourism Minister Stella Lukele.

Jane Garrison, an elephant specialist with PETA, told IPS, "PETA is adamant against stealing animals from their natural homes and cramming them in zoo cages, but especially when it comes to the San Diego Zoo and the Lowry Park Zoo, which are the zoos that want to cage Swaziland's young elephants".

Ted Reilly, the founder of Big Game Parks of Swaziland, sent his son Mickey Reilly to the United States to investigate the American zoos. That was six months ago, and the trip's outcome is unknown.

"We have to report our findings to His Majesty (Mswati) before a public announcement," Mickey Reilly told IPS.

Meanwhile, the sale is on hold, which pleases the tourism ministry. If the elephant sale goes forward, PETA has promised to mount a tourism boycott against the tiny Southern African kingdom, whose population is only slightly larger than PETA's international membership. Government is hoping to increase tourism in the kingdom, to bring in much needed foreign currency. Tourism authorities fret that the elephant sale is not worth upsetting those plans.

At Hlane Royal Game Park, however, the matter seems more urgent.

"The elephants are making life difficult for breeding raptors (like hawks and vultures) and other species whose habitats are disturbed by the overpopulation of pachyderms," game ranger Dube said.

The problem is the elephants are "orphans", unattached to a family. Elephants lie in a hierarchy of family-like colonies. When a "father" elephant is missing, the rouge youngsters tend to go wild without an elder to enforce discipline. In the case of Hlane's elephants, they refuse to respect park boundaries, and roam the countryside, destroying crops at a time when the country is suffering a critical food shortage.

Hlane repopulated Swaziland with elephants relatively recently, in 1985, 40 years after elephants were hunted to extinction in the country. The animals came from South Africa, and many were orphans.

PETA offered an alternative to the sale to U.S. zoos when the group proposed that the elephants be sent to an animal preserve in South Africa. However, South Africa has had bad experiences with orphaned elephants, and forbids their importation.

"South Africa exported a problem when they gave Swaziland so many elephant orphans," said Dube.

Hlane Park requires 300,000 U.S. dollars to extend electrical fencing to permit the elephant population to roam more extensively. Park conservationists feel that until the fence is erected, culling of the elephant herd is the hope for the survival of other species. A sale to an appropriate animal facility would allow the elephants to live, and bring in needed revenue to ensure future culling might be unnecessary.

PETA insists the U.S. zoos are not appropriate facilities, based on research the group has conducted that documented incidents of abuse against elephants.

A source in the Swaziland animal conservation movement told IPS that PETA's input is welcomed, because all parties are ultimately concerned with the elephants' welfare. However, Swazis fear that PETA's help comes with strings attached.

"PETA assisted South African parks financially, but on condition that animal herds not be culled. This has led to a crisis in overpopulation, and animals are dying of disease and starvation," the conservationist said.

Swazi conservationists have come to realise that PETA has enemies in the United States. Groups opposed to the animal welfare agenda have been e-mailing Big Game Parks of Swaziland and the local media spurious "reports" that PETA is engaged in illegal activities, and puts the welfare of animals above human beings.

PETA's Garrision said such tactics are as familiar as they are unfounded, and they show how lobbying groups in support of animal hunting and the leather and fur industries are threatened by animal conservation.

Swaziland is geographically distant from such Developed World concerns, but is the centre of a battle pitting elephants against poor peasant farmers desperate to protect their crops.

"It is a very bad thing when animals destroy crops, and you can understand why a farmer would be devastated," Ted Reilly said. "Our interest as a game reserve is to protect animals. Elephants' welfare is key. That is why we seek compromise, and we are looking for alternative ways forward."

Palace sources say King Mswati has received the game parks' report on the possible elephant sale to the United States and is close to reaching a decision. By custom and law, all animals in Swaziland are the ''property'' of the king, who holds them in trust for the Swazi people. Mswati must therefore approve of the sale of every game animal.

His decision will weigh the threat of a tourism boycott against the welfare of peasant farmers during a food crisis, and eleven elephants who face death via culling or life in U.S. zoos. (END/2003)

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GOVERNMENT GIVES £60,000 TO FIGHT ILLEGAL TRADE IN IVORY
DEPARTMENT FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS
30 January 2003

A key global monitoring system to crack down on illegal trade in elephant products has been given a £60,000 cash injection by the UK Government.

Nature Protection Minister Elliot Morley announced the financial boost for the Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS) today.The announcement follows decisions at the November conference of the parties of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to put in place a rigorous regime to control trade in ivory stockpiles.

Under the agreement, three southern African countries (Namibia, Botswana and South Africa) will each be permitted to make one-off sales of limited amounts of their ivory stockpiles, but not before May 2004, and only then if a series of strict conditions have been fulfilled, and verified by the CITES Standing Committee. ETIS uses global data on elephant product seizures, corruption and domestic ivory markets to identify trade routes, trends and methods.

This helps to build up a background of objective information on which to base future decisions for elephant conservation. It will play an important part in monitoring the three countries in question, and the UK hopes that by setting this example with funding other countries will follow suit and lend their support.

Elliot Morley said: "I recognize that those southern African states which have stable and well-managed elephant populations will want to carry out legitimate trade in elephant products. However there must be robust monitoring systems in place first to prevent exploitation. ETIS is a vital part of the data gathering which will facilitate assessment of the impacts of the decisions made in Chile on the illegal ivory trade, and I hope that other countries will follow the UK's example in funding this process."

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Ministry body partially lifts ban on African ivory
The Daily Yomiuri (Japan)
January 24, 2003

The Central Environment Council, an advisory body to the environment minister, decided Friday to approve commercial trading in ivory from some African countries, while deciding to ban trading of other endangered
animals, including a species of Central American parrot, ministry officials said.

Following the council's proposals, the ministry will revise the enforcement ordinance of the Law for the Conservation of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. The ministry's move reflects resolutions made at a conference of Washington Convention member countries held in November in Chile.

Three countries, including South Africa, have been allowed to trade three types of ivory confiscated from poachers with prior notification, while trading of 11 species of animals, including parrots and turtles currently imported to Japan as pets, has been prohibited.

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Electric Fence to Encircle Kenyan Forest Reserve — January 17, 2003
By Jennifer Wanjiru, Environment News Service
January 16, 2003

NAIROBI, Kenya (ENS) - A multi-shilling fund has been launched in Kenya to put an electric fence around one of the east African nation's largest forest reserves to protect it from illegal loggers, poachers and general human
encroachment.

When complete, tentatively by 2005, the ambitious electric fence will seal the more than 1,000 square kilometer (386 square mile) Aberdare Forest Reserve and secure its water catchment sources.

Already, farmers living near the forest have pledged to contribute 2.3 million shillings (US$1.8 million) towards the 140 million shilling project, while the Kenya Wildlife Service and Forestry Department have pledged to offer technical support for the project.

A new government with a fresh approach to environmental protection makes the Aberdare project possible. Kenyans went to the polls last December 27 and elected a new government led by President Mwai Kibaki, a 72 year old
reformist. He replaced longtime leader Daniel arap Moi, who was first elected President of the Republic of Kenya on October 12, 1978.

Soaring to peaks of 13,000 feet, the Aberdare Mountain Ranges are famous for the deep V shaped valleys with streams and rivers cascading over spectacular waterfalls, including Kenya's longest fall of some 1,000 feet.

"The endangered black rhino and the elephants roaming the indigenous forest will be secured once the project comes to completion," said Wilfred Kiboro, the chief executive of Nation Media Group. "We want all Kenyans, big or
small, to come forward and support this project," he said.

Donations for the project are being solicited through regular radio and television ads and in local newspapers.

With a mixture of montane grasslands, forest and moorland, the Aberdare Forest is full of birds not seen in other parts of Kenya. The birds common here include the crowned eagle and the rufous-breasted sparrowhawk; there
are also birds such as the African black duck, golden-winged sunbird, silvery-cheeked hornbill, Hartlaub's turaco and the white-eyed slaty flycatcher.

Environmentalists here have expressed hope that the new electric fence will control illegal logging and reduce the human wildlife conflict.

"This will allow farmers to grow crops up to the boundary of the Aberdare Forest without worrying about destruction by wild animals," said Charles Njonjo, chairman of the Kenya Wildlife Service.

Kenya's new Environment Minister Dr. Newton Kulundu has said that the government will reforest all land that had been cleared in Kenya forests by illegal loggers and "politically-correct" companies. He was referring to friends of the previous government who are known to have benefited from their association when it came to the distribution of the right to log forested lands.

Local corporations have shown interest in supporting the Aberdare initiative as a way of practicing social responsibility and preserving the tourist potential of the mountains.

The outlying Aberdare National Park, which rings the mountain, is a tourist attraction site and has earned 26 million shillings in revenue every year for the past two decades. Approximately 62,000 tourists visit the park each year.

"The Aberdare National Park is spectacular and its vegetation in the forest belt contains some of Kenya's most ancient trees - cedar and hagenia," says Professor Wangari Maathai, the reknowned Kenyan environmentalist who is now assistant environment minister in the new government.

The Aberdares are an isolated volcanic mountain range that forms the eastern wall of the rift valley, running roughly 100 kilometers (62 miles) north-south between Nairobi and Thomsons Falls.

The park has spectacular falls like the Gura Falls - the deepest in Kenya - which plummets more than 300 meters into an impenetrable ravine opposite the Karura Falls, which drops 275 meters. These waterfalls were filmed for the
famous "Out of Africa" movie.

"This is a great initiative that touches not only on the lives of the more than nine million people who depend on the forest, but also on the future of our children," Kiboro said.

The Aberdare mountains, also known as the Nyandarua mountains, are a volcanic range, which include a national park and a number of forest reserves. It is an important water catchment area, and throughout most of the year it gets rain and mist.

The Aberdare National Park is mostly at a higher altitude than the forest reserves, and between them they provide a habitat for a number of globally and regionally threatened species. Some of these, such as the African green
ibis, Ayres's hawk eagle, crowned eagle, African grass owl, Cape eagle owl and long-tailed widowbird, it has in common with Mount Kenya, but unique to this region are the Aberdare cisticola, Baillon's crake and the striped
fluff-tail.

The idea to fence the Aberdare Forest was started some 14 years ago by the management of Rhino Ark, a tourist hotel at the Aberdares.

The Rhino Ark Management Committee has been organizing an annual motor event, The Rhino Charge, to raise funds for the fencing of Aberdares. So far, the charity event, started with a meagre 200,000 shillings, has raised
160 million.

"The money has been used to construct half of the 320 kilometer fence around the forest," says Colin Church, the chair of Rhino Ark Management Committee.

Local environmentalists say that the Aberdare Forest Reserve is important to the residents of Nairobi and Nakuru, who depend on it for its water resources.

For instance, the Kinangop Grasslands located on a plateau to the west of the Aberdares used to be an area of tussock bogs and swampy valleys, but these are dwindling fast in the face of small-scale crop cultivations.

"Let us all join hands in building this fence so that the forest and the national park are preserved for posterity," says Njonjo of the Kenya Wildlife Service.

Cheetahs in Aberdare National Park (Photo courtesy Special Interest Travel) In terms of wildlife, some 200 recorded species of birds can be found in the park. The moorlands are inhabited by some rare melanistic leopards, serval
cats and genets, their coats blackened by the high altitude and closeness to the Equator. The wildlife in the Aberdares is very human shy, and the lions have a reputation for ferocity.

The Aberdares forest is rich with wildlife: elephant, rhino, warthog, bush pig, giant forest hog, waterbuck, duiker, suni, dikdik, bongo and reedbuck. One also finds black and white colobus monkeys, Sykes' monkeys and
black-faced vervets in the forest canopy.

"We have to protect all these species," says Kiboro.

A protected area since 1950, the Aberdare Range National Park covers 767 square kilometres and contains the country's two highest peaks - Lesatima at 13,120 feet and Kinangop at 12,816 feet.

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Impatient Tourists Risk Animal Attacks — January 8, 2003
African Eye News Service (Nelspruit)
January 8, 2003
By Justin Arenstein
Hectorspruit

Impatient foreign tourists who demand to see all Big Five animals while on safari are eroding safety on South Africa's game reserves, lodge operators warned on Wednesday.

The warning follows the death of Mpumalanga game tracker Laybert Magagula, who was gored and trampled by elephants last week Friday.

Witnesses claim the elephants attacked when he startled a mother with a two-day-old calf, while attempting to herd them towards tourists at the 4 000ha Kwa Madwala Private Game Lodge near Hectorspruit in Mpumalanga.

Magagula died instantly when he was stabbed in the head, chest, back, and legs by the mother's tusks, and then trampled by other elephants.

A Land Rover taking international tourists on a game drive 200m away heard the attack, and Magagula's agonised screams, but was unable to intervene.

"We don't guarantee sightings, but rangers are often under immense pressure from foreign tourists to produce Big Five experiences -- Americans are especially demanding," said lodge owner Conrad van Eyssen.

"This kind of pressure can be extremely dangerous, especially where animals are with newborn young. They get very protective and are aggressive if disturbed."

Mpumalanga Parks Board (MPB) regulatory manager, Jan Muller, concurred on Wednesday and condemned any attempt to guarantee sightings for tourists.

"These are supposed to be free-ranging animals. It's extremely unnatural to herd them for the benefit of tourists. In fact, constant harassment of this nature is guaranteed to make even normally docile animals aggressive,"said Muller.

Stressing that there is currently no legislation or ordinance prohibiting the practise, Muller did however say any form of harassment of wild animals was contrary to international conservation protocols and could provoke public backlash.

Muller also warned that the incident was not the first in Mpumalanga.

"A female tourist was killed in Hazyview last year, when a hippo trampled her on a hotel golf course. The woman apparently got too close, and the hippo was protecting its calf," said Muller.

"Not even vehicles are safe. A Sabi Sands Land Rover ferrying tourists was recently attacked by an elephant that became upset when game rangers got too close to her calf."

The elephant speared the rear of the Landrover with its tusks, lifted the vehicle off the ground, and pushed it over 20m.

"The vehicle was luckily in gear, so when the elephant finally dropped it, the driver was able to immediately speed off to safety. Tourists were thrown from their seats during the incident, but no one was hurt," added Muller.

"We were asked to shoot the elephant, but determined that the humans were at fault and that the elephant was simply protecting its young."

Van Eyssen has also ruled against shooting the elephant that killed Magagula.

"It was a freak, tragic accident, but we cannot blame the elephant. It was merely reacting to a perceived threat, and instinctively protected its
calf at all costs," he said.

Police are meanwhile conducting an inquest into the incident, to determine whether anyone at the lodge should be charged with criminal negligence or related offences.

Kwa Madwala has in the interim brought Magagula's family to the lodge to visit the scene of death, has submitted workman's insurance claims on their behalf, and will be paying for all funeral expenses.

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CATEGORIES
Circus elephants	Zoo elephants	Research and conservation
Elephants in Southeast Asia	Elephants in Africa	Human/Elephant Conflict
Legislation in Tennessee	Legislation - (Primarily in Maine)	Births
Deaths	Swaziland