Birdlife Poaching in Botswana

Botswana has had numerous difficulties with the poaching of elephants for bushmeat and ivory trade, but recent studies have shown that the Kori Bustard bird has also been the target for poaching and export, leaving them a threatened species. The Kori Bustard- the largest Bustard in sub-saharan Africa- is a preferred meat for local consumption. The locals set up snares to trap the birds for tribal elders to eat in some regions, while in other regions they may be eaten by any people from the tribes where they simply shoot them with guns. The birds are also being encroached upon because of overgrazing of domesticated animals belonging to both tribes and more developed areas of modern society. To add to the threat of poaching, the Kori Bustards are smuggled alive or dead across the border to South Africa and sold for exotic meats and pet trade to the rich in and out of Africa in boxes up to 10 at a time. For more information about the poaching of birdlife in Botswana or questions on how you can help, please consult the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund or the Global Environment Facility/Small Grants Programme who assisted with the funding of this study or visit http://www.birdlife.org/news/news/2005/11/kori.html .

For personal inquiry, contact blb@birdlifebotswana.org.bw for a final report for this cause. Thank you for your time and assistance.

Poaching for Profit and Pet Trade in Madagascar

Poachers threaten the Spider Tortoise with extinction along the coast of Madagascar in the Northern regions. They sell them to be eaten by the locals, and to fuel the exotic pet trade- so much that the wild numbers of this species of tortoise has fallen by almost 90%. This species is in massive demand due to their worth; up to $1000 each, which is seen as a necessary source of income for the poorer areas in the country's poor financial state. Also with the encroachment of the beaches, their habitats have been destroyed. There is an estimated 2 million Spider Tortoises left in the wild. For more information, go to http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8224000/8224143.stm or contact the Union for the Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. There has also been shocking amounts of Madagascan Lemur which have been brutally slaughtered for bush meat, sold to restaurant owners for what they call "delicacies". Poachers will shoot them and smoke them to be sold to the poorer areas all around Madagascar. Already 15 people have been arrested for killing lemurs in the forsets with slingshots and guns in the last week. If the market for lemur meat increases, this could mean a global scale of hunting these animals, making them extict within several years. Donor Agencies have been built in order to save these animals, but they still need help to raise awareness as to not eating these poor creatures and selling them for people who simply want a trophy of their wealth. For more information on the poaching of lemurs, go to http://news.bbc.co.uk.earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8210000/8210355.stm
Thank you for your time and cooperation.