FIGHTING TO SAVE WILDLIFE FROM POACHERS

Hi, I'm Sally and In August this year, at 65, I started an overlanding journey in my Landy 'Hari' to cover all sub Saharan Africa in an endeavour to visit NGO's involved in anti poaching and community and wildlife coexistence, witness their work and post together with my adventures on my social media channels, to raise awareness and funds.

I'm inviting you to help me help those who, whilst working actively and tirelessly on the ground and by various methods to stop the decline and extinction of a growing number of wildlife species through poaching, are totally dependent on external funding.

I appreciate there are so many causes these days in aid of human and animal suffering and that most of us are all doing our bit somewhere. This is one of that with more of our help, unlike many others, has a real chance of succeeding!

However, If the NGO's and charities don't get more funding and more isn't done to stop the illegal killing of wildlife, many more species will cease to exist, with potentially, catastrophic consequences to our own species.

So, there appear to be two main types of poaching. One is controlled by organized crime and focussed on the supply of rhino, lion, elephant & pangolin horn, bone, tusk & scale to the Chinese trade of these products for medicinal purposes. There is absolutely no scientific evidence to support these animal parts as having any medicinal value at all. These animals are butchered, poisoned and trapped. Poisoning has, in turn, lead to a serious decline in vulture species as these birds are the cleaners of the land, picking clean natural predator kills and preventing diseases such as anthrax - clearly they don't survive the picking clean of those poisoned by human kills. Vultures will indicate where an animal has been poached so they are poisoned to keep them away from their targets!

The other is the hunting of antelope, fowl and small game for food (bush meat) as a result of poverty and hunger. The danger here is that this method of hunting is generally by snares that typically catch and kill animals that are of no use to the hunter (bi catch if you will, like dolphins being caught in nets for catching tuna in the fishing industry). One of these is the African wild dog that is now also critically endangered. This type of poaching is growing as a result of poverty and hunger and the biggest danger is that it is becoming commercial so needs urgent attention.

There are many challenges to face in the fight to stop poaching.

Beginning my adventure in August, I visited Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe and learned that local communities often only experience the negative impact of wildlife through the loss of their livestock, crops and even their own lives to hungry and destructive wild animals. This eventuality is due mainly the result of the loss of habitat available to wildlife as a result of human activities.

Whilst training and deploying teams of anti poaching rangers and dogs is key to tracking down and catching poachers, without education this method alone is treating a symptom rather than cause and, in effect, pushing water up hill! EDUCATION is key and there is a growing effort to educate young people in the local communities about their wildlife neighbours. Many children have only seen the ruination of their parents livelihoods caused by wild animals that kill their livestock and even family members & destroy their crops. This doesn't lead to either love or respect for these creatures!

Children's bush camps, learning centres and a different approach to teaching school children in the community, are bringing a new perspective to the situation. By demonstrating, through interaction with animals, e.g. game drives and visits to sanctuary's, as well as games, the necessity and beauty of wildlife and the value it can bring to their lives, they are introducing a new perspective to children. They are learning to understand, how to better coexist and to actually become the guardians of their wildlife neighbours. This educational process is proving extremely successful with many youngsters from local communities going home and passing their knowledge and convictions to their elders and thereby helping immediately to stop poaching in their own communities. Many also are leaving school and following careers in conservation.

I have met with NGO's and witnessed some of this work and was especially impressed with the Painted Dog Conservation organization in Zimbabwe specifically working to protect the African painted dog and that has a large focus on education through it's children's bush camp, just outside Hwange National Park. I was also really impressed by Anti Poaching K9, also in Zimbabwe.

Anti Poaching K9 is a 100% Zimbabwean NGO run by Peter Maguwu, from Harare in Zimbabwe - a country facing diar economic hardship. Peter worked as a security dog handler in Baghdad to earn money to buy a farm near Harare and set up his NGO focussed on training all women anti poaching teams and dogs to deploy in the fight against poaching, throughout the wildlife areas of Zimbabwe.

Whilst working in Baghdad Peter noticed that women appeared to bond very easily and firmly with the dogs and he was keen to give women at home better opportunities. He has a 5 year plan to train and deploy 100 dogs and handlers, across Zimbabwe and is working closely with Zimbabwe Parks. So far, Peter is self funding but he is not able to do this for much longer. I intend to help him get funding but meantime, any contribution will help to buy all the necessary items to care for the dogs and help toward their training.

SO PLEASE HELP ME HELP PETER TO BRIDGE THE GAP, THIS CHRISTMAS AND INTO THE NEW YEAR.

Just €1.00 from enough people will make a difference - it really takes no longer than 10 minutes!

The links to my channels etc., here: SallysWheels and THANK YOU for your generosity and commitment to this cause.