THE Kariba Animal Welfare Trust Fund KAWFT has bemoaned the increase of snares in Kariba adding
that they were affecting wildlife.KAWFT spokesperson Debbie Otman on Wednesday told CAJ Africa
News that the issue of snares in some parts of Kariba was worrisome. Affected areas include Chawara,
Heights, Baobab, Nyamhunga and others.
“At the moment I do not have statistics of snares removed in kariba but last year numbers were good as
compared back to what they were in 2015.As an organisation, we are much concerned by the spreading
of snares in some parts of kariba. We should work together as a community in creating a snare free
Kariba, said Otman.
“Snares affect every animal and bird. It’s not a case of which are affected the most but of what animal
we see the most. Many we do not see yet they are also caught in snares.
Snares are used extensively by poachers on animals and birds. A snare is a thin wire noose set to trap
animals which some people view as being a pest or threat usually foxes and rabbits. In Kariba and other
parts of Zimbabwe poachers capture animals like elephants, kudus, buffaloes and other wild herbivores
for meat, ivory and skin (hide).Snares are intended to catch the animal on neck like a lasso.
Meanwhile the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority ZIMPARKS has said fourteen
people have been killed by wild animals across the country since the beginning of the year.
ZIMPARKS spokesperson Tinashe Farawo said the deadly encounters, which have left some nursing
permanent injuries are being recorded across the districts, mainly in rural areas kariba inclusive.
“This year we have lost about 14 people, slightly higher compared to the previous year. The issues of
human wildlife conflicts are affecting every almost every district across the country and we are doing a
lot of programs to ensure that we mitigate the problems,” Farawo said.
“We are doing a lot of awareness campaigns in communities teaching our people about animal
behaviour, what to expect when they meet these animals so that we can protect and preserve lives.”
According to a research conducted by the Zimbabwe Environmental Lawyers Association (ZELA),
between 2016 and 2021 Human Wildlife Conflicts (HWC) cases increased by a magnitude of nearly 300
percent from 619 to 1598.
More than 45 people were killed already in human-wildlife conflicts in Zimbabwe by the end of
December last year, the same number as those killed in the whole of 2020. In 2021, a total of 72 lives
were lost to HWC.
“It is this worrying increase that the villagers have brought to the fore the debate over the need for the
state to compensate victims of HWC or their surviving family members, said Samu Mawawo,Kariba
Incorporated Area Residents Rate Payers Association KIARRA ,executive chair.
Government announced last year that they had set up a scheme to assist HWC victims with burial and
hospitalisations, but remained silent on the issue of the compensation.
Conservationists attribute the growing cases of HWC to a number of factors that range from population
increase of both humans and wildlife, the effects of climate change, deforestation, illegal cutting of grass and a general mismanagement of natural resources.
Obert Siamilandu: