LOCAL environmental awareness and conservation NPO Snare Aware strives to remove snares and educate people about poaching and how to combat it. The NPO recently did just that at the Ashburton Aloe Festival hosted by the Lower Mpushini Valley Conservancy.

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Poaching is generally thought of in extremes, such as the poaching of rhinoceroses and elephants for ivory. Snare Aware seeks to bring about awareness of the small, simple, yet lethal wire traps used to kill wildlife within urban and semi-urban greenbelts.

A Snare Aware member, whose identity will remain anonymous for their safety, explained that the focus is often on large poaching syndicates and not enough awareness exists for snares.

“Snares are a silent killer, wiping out wildlife populations in all types of natural areas, threatening all species due to their non-targeted nature. It has become a risk to all biodiversity and wildlife in South Africa. Snare awareness receives much less attention and funding, which is why we dedicate a lot of time and effort towards raising awareness and educating the general public,” said the member.

They added that they had a stand up for the day at the festival, and even managed to get snare sweeps in during the event. Only one active snare was found on the day, but an old hotspot yielded numerous inactive snares.

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