Parliament hears poverty is major factor for poaching at iSimangaliso parks
The iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority says social ills in neighbouring communities are major factors in poaching at parks.
Last year, an alleged poacher went missing during a shootout with rangers in November at the Eastern Shores of Lake St Lucia in northern KwaZulu-Natal.
CEO Sibusiso Bukhosini says they have since discovered the man is part of the Nibela community and is the brother of another suspected poacher killed in a separate shootout with rangers.
Bukhosini has told Parliament that the Nibela community is deeply impoverished, with some of its members resorting to illegal activities to survive.
"People are using the Nibela people to poach high-value species like your Black rhino. They are merely exploiting the fact they are poor and they are easy targets in terms of assisting in performing those criminal activities."
He says they are in the process of creating opportunities for the locals.
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