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Innocent Ruwende Harare Bureau
AT least 22 poachers have been killed this year in combat action with Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority rangers, while 900 others were arrested, Environment, Water and Climate Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri said yesterday.

Muchinguri-Kashiri said of the 22 dead poachers, 16 were locals while the others were foreigners.

“At least 876 locals involved in poaching have been arrested this year and 44 foreigners were also apprehended. We’re moving to embrace the use of technology like drones and aircraft to combat poaching,” she said.

Muchinguri-Kashiri said despite the high number of arrests made, the courts were not passing deterrent sentences with the amount of bail granted to suspects being too little.

She said five game rangers were arrested in Hwange for allegedly poisoning 11 elephants by lacing food with cyanide last week.

Six elephants were found dead with their tusks removed in Hwange National Park on September 26 last month.

Rangers also came across five more elephant carcasses less than a week later.

The elephants still had their tusks, suggesting that the alleged poachers were disrupted.

In another incident, authorities in Kariba also found three elephants suspected to have died of cyanide poisoning.

However in this case, authorities suspect that it was not willful poisoning as the elephants are suspected to have taken something from a dumpsite.