Poachers get ‘poached’
They came across cyclists that stated they saw the men and the dogs with a Spingbok and pointed the direction out
Cyclists made the nature reserve a safer place for wildlife after spotting two men carrying a Springbok carcass and being led by five hunting dogs.
On Sunday, October 27 concerned residents reported these suspicious men to the South African Community Crime Watch (SACCW).
Piet Wassenaar, Chair of the SACCW Rescue & Relocate division that focuses on conservation, poaching and reptile rescue set out to the area immediately.
He met up with a staff member of the reserve.
They came across cyclists that stated they saw the men and the dogs with a Spingbok and pointed the direction out.
After meeting up with a neighboring farmer, Jaco van Dyk, they soon found tracks and followed it to where they found two of the poachers.
The first two poachers were detained with a Springbok carcass and five hunting dogs.
The necessary authorities were alerted.
They were joined by a responder from Seekoeiwater Plots, Dietmar Mindt, as well as Danie Jacobs, another farmer from the area. While waiting for the police to arrive, more information came to light and these leads were followed up.
An additional two poachers were then also detained.
Piet set out on an aerial search with Casper Janse van Rensburg and from there they were able to determine that the rest of the poachers had left the area.
Witbank SAPS arrived on scene and four suspects were arrested and transported. The five hunting dogs were transported to Witbank SPCA.
“We would like to thank the community for alerting us to the situation. Thank you to the nature reserve ranger as well as everyone that assisted during this search,” said Maureen Scheepers Operations Co-ordinator for the SACCW.
The suspected poachers appeared in the Witbank Magistrate’s Court on October 28 and 29.
Station Commander Brig Lindani Ndlovu praised the amazing work and effort of everybody involved that helped lead to this success.
