Zimbabwe Poaching Seen Rising on Meat Shortages
Date: 30-Jul-07
Country: SOUTH AFRICA
The southern African country is home to some of the continent's largest game reserves but experts say some animal species are at risk as people hunt for food, an additional threat to that posed by cross-border trophy hunters.
"We are concerned that the continued demand for meat now with our animals that are edible roaming our parks, we could be seeing a worse poaching situation," Edward Mbewe, spokesman for the Parks and Wildlife Management Authority told the official Herald newspaper.
President Robert Mugabe's government has revoked licences of all private abattoirs for overpricing, but cattle producers have refused to sell their animals to the state-owned abattoir because prices are low, resulting in massive shortages of beef.
Chicken producers have also halted production due to the price blitz, which is intended to fight Zimbabwe's soaring inflation rate now officially close to 5,000 percent.
Mbewe said game meat was being illegally sold in some areas near state-owned game parks around the country. Killing wildlife attracts a small fine, which wildlife officials say is not enough to deter poachers.
Zimbabwe is struggling with a severe economic crisis, marked by the world's highest inflation rate, rising unemployment and shortages of foreign currency, food and fuel.
Mugabe's government last month slashed prices of goods and services by half and ordered a price freeze, which has left most shop shelves empty of basic goods such as maize-meal, cooking oil, meat and sugar.
