Poaching and illegal wildlife trade threaten tourism and development options in Africa

Panelists at an event held in Berlin, Germany, during ITB — the world’s largest tourism fair concurred  that record poaching levels of rhinos and elephants are not only threatening the basis of tourism but also tourism-based development options in Africa.

 

In his opening remarks, Hon. Moses Kalongashawa, Minister of Tourism and Culture in Malawi, and Chair of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Ministers responsible for Tourism noted that the issue of poaching is of huge concern and Africa is losing wildlife at record rates each year to poachers and illegal trade. He said this was because of the involvement of organized criminal syndicates in elephant and rhino poaching, with criminals now deploying advanced technologies ranging from night vision scopes, silenced weapons, darting equipment and helicopters, to carry out their missions.

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