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A Snaring Concern
By Lourens Leeuwner, Senior Conservation Manager: Business and Wildlife
Snaring for the bushmeat trade has become one of the most prominent threats to wildlife nationwide and is no longer a low-impact subsistence activity but the most common form of illegal hunting.
In other words, snaring is not necessarily driven by hunger but has evolved into a commercial business. To saturate demand, animals up to the size of an elephant are being poached. Usually set along game trails and around water points, these wire traps are set in areas with bountiful game with the intention to catch animals as they pass by. Snares are the silent drivers of extinction.
On 10 and 11 September, the EWT will be co-hosting the inaugural Snare Mitigation Symposium with the Cape Leopard Trust, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, SA National Parks and the SA National Biodiversity Institute in Pretoria to discuss and seek possible solutions to the pervasive threat to wildlife and the economy caused by illegal hunting with snares.
Snaring, which is essentially the use of a trap, is illegal in South Africa. Because of the nature of snaring, it is challenging trying to catch poachers red-handed and to present adequate evidence to link them to the crime and to successfully prosecute them.
Snares can be made from a variety of materials but fencing wire and cable is usually preferred. The materials are easy to obtain and snares are quick to manufacture, easy to set and difficult to detect. Their effectiveness and secret nature make them the perfect hunting tool.
Animals caught in snares experience great suffering caused by stress, injuries and mutilation, usually leading to their demise. Even when the caught animal manages to escape, the snare usually remains on its body and tightens with time. Being increasingly compromised, the animal’s condition tends to deteriorate until it can no longer continue.
Looking at the bigger picture, snaring can contribute significantly to changing the demographics and size of animal populations, ultimately contributing to the loss of biodiversity. Although, it is mostly game animals that are targeted by the poachers, the indiscriminatory nature of snares leads to what is known as bycatch: the capture of non-targeted animals such as snakes and other reptiles, mammals including predators, and even birds – many of which are Endangered.
Most conservationists and land managers find snares in the field on a regular basis and have to deal with the consequences of illegal poaching through the loss of not only valuable game, but also domestic animals along the line.
As a means to address snaring, the EWT recently undertook a project and proof of concept to determine to determine whether anti-poaching dogs could be used for snare detection. Thanks to funding from the Taronga Zoological Society in Sydney, Australia, our Canine Conservation Unit spent several days testing techniques to detect snares on Madike nature reserve in Limpopo. Using two EWT anti-poaching canines, Ruger and Kisha, the team set snares in the veld before sending out rangers to find the items. The trial was completed four times in different terrain with rangers only finding some of the snares and items dropped randomly in the veld. To prove this concept works, the rangers were again sent into the veld to find snares and the other items; this time with the dogs. In all cases, the canines successfully tracked the scent of the person who had planted the snares and other items, finding the majority of the snares. As further proof that this technique works, the dogs were taken on a routine patrol of a farm that has problems with poachers using snares to catch wildlife. During this patrol, Ruger discovered a snare that had been planted by a real-life poacher.
While there is a lot more work that needs to be done, this is proof that the concept works – an extra tool in the arsenal to combat poaching.
Rangers hold a variety of snares removed from the veld.
Kisha illustrating just how difficult snares are to see in the field
Locating a snare during the test phase of the proof of concept
Ruger and a ranger looking for snares at Medike