People asked to hand over poachers

THE Kruger National Park (KNP) general manager and head of communications, William Mabasa, has asked churches and the community to blow the whistle on anyone involved in poaching activities.

Speaking on Sunday at AFM Church in Malamulele, where the KNP management donated blankets to the elderly, Mabasa said KNP rangers were at God’s mercy, saying they were facing tough battles with poachers every day.

“It’s a war zone out there, people shoot at each other every day,” said Mabasa.

“Of course we may argue that the rangers are skilled, but the fact is that through your prayers, God watches over them during those battles, and this is why we still don’t have a casualty from our side,” he said, appealing to churches and the community along the park’s fence to report poaching activities.

“The poacher could be your grandchild, neighbour or even your son, and if that happens before your eyes and you say nothing about it, we might end up without animals in the park because these people are now expanding their targets to include elephants,” he said.

According to Mabasa, two elephants have been poached in the park this year, which triggered fears that elephants could be the next targets after rhinos. “We need to join hands in this fight in order to prevent the on-slaughter of our heritage,” he said before inviting churches to attend a prayer session to be held in Skukuza on November 11.

Pastor Jeremiah Nobela, who spoke on behalf of pastors in the Malamulele area, said the park’s initiative to honour the pensioners was a culture that churches needed to revisit in order to encourage people to respect their parents.

“This is a good initiative from the park, it teaches us what some people have forgotten and now behave in the manner that is unbecoming,” he said, urging the congregation to show love and respect to their parents.