THE use of poison by Africa’s poachers is killing large numbers of scavengers including vultures.
Hundreds of vultures in Namibia died after feeding on an elephant carcass that poachers had poisoned.
In Zimbabwe, cyanide has been used to kill dozens of elephants for their ivory tusks while in Mozambique three lions died after eating bait infused with a crop pesticide.
Poisoning Africa’s wildlife is an old practice, but conservationists fear such incidents are escalating in some areas, saying relatively easy access to agricultural chemicals and the surging illegal market for animal parts are increasing pressure on some beleaguered species.
The threat is compounded by the indiscriminate nature of poison, in which a single contaminated carcass can kill a range of animals, particularly scavengers.
This month, a continent-wide database was launched to gather data on wildlife poisoning and better understand a phenomenon widely documented in southern Africa, where a reported 70 lions have been fatally poisoned in the last 18 months, according to managers. While the African Wildlife Poisoning Database lacks records from areas including Central Africa, it dates to 1961 and lists nearly 300 poisoning incidents in 15 African countries.
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