Poaching has resurged at Kloofendal Nature Reserve, with volunteers removing 64 snares so far this year and reporting a sharp increase in illegal hunting since mid-March, reports Roodepoort Record.

According to Friends of Kloofendal (FroK) co-founder Karin Spottiswoode, poaching had declined following previous intervention efforts, but the situation changed dramatically earlier this year.

“It was looking as though previous interventions were effective. Poaching in the reserve was still present but had declined significantly, but from March this year there was a sudden increase, which has not abated since,” she said.

Spottiswoode said a FroK volunteer found a single snare on March 7, but by March 28 volunteers had uncovered 13 snares during one patrol.

“Every patrol since then has shown clearly that we have a significant poaching problem on our hands,” she said.

The snares are not the only disturbing discoveries.

“Nearly every patrol uncovers carcasses as well,” said Spottiswoode.

She said mountain reedbuck and duiker are the animals most frequently targeted, although dassies are also caught.

“Sometimes we find live animals still trapped in the snares. When we are really lucky, we can release them back into the reserve, but on other occasions the animal is too badly injured to rescue.”

She described death by snaring as ‘incredibly cruel, slow and agonising’.

Honourary SANParks ranger and FroK volunteer Tracey Herbst, who leads many of the reserve’s snare patrols, said poaching is far more widespread than many people realise.

“People don’t realise that poaching occurs outside large game reserves as well,” she said.

“In a small reserve like Kloofendal, every loss has a far greater impact on the animal population.”

The Roodepoort Record also spoke to Tony de Castro of the Sugarbush Ridges Coalition, which works closely with Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden to combat poaching in the surrounding ridges.

“We have, with a great deal of hard work and at significant cost, managed to largely contain poaching in the ridges above the gardens,” he said.

“As we all know, the situation can change overnight, but regular patrols by our dedicated park rangers, rangers from Keeping the West Wild and close collaboration with our conservation partners have thus far paid off.”

For more information about poaching or snare patrols at Kloofendal Nature Reserve, contact FroK on 079 693 5608 or visit www.kloofendalfriends.org.za/events.

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