Poor Fencing has Devastating Effects on Escaping Animals

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Richprins
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Poor Fencing has Devastating Effects on Escaping Animals

Post by Richprins »

In the old days a team from Kruger would maintain and extend the Mozambique border fence, with funding from the Army, and helicopter assistance from the Air Force if required. The fence is 5m inside the actual boundary, then giving SP a servitude to maintain the other side too. National Veterinary services is meant to maintain the Southern and Western fence up to the Olifants River.

As you can see below it is a grey area, as the Komati is briefly the Southern border, depending on how you look at it, after the confluence with the Crocodile River. (blue) The fence stops on the floodline north of the Crocodile, (yellow) and then goes straight to the border post from the Southern bank. (orange)

The river is low at this time of year, so all sorts of movements possible.

There is a large Moz community at Ressano Garcia on the Moz side.

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Lisbeth
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Poor Fencing has Devastating Effects on Escaping Animals

Post by Lisbeth »

It must have been like that forever! Why have they not decided on some common rules to where and whom? It cannot be that difficult :O^

Certainly, all kinds of animals must have been passing the fence, also rhinos 0*\


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Re: Elephant Management and Poaching in South Africa

Post by Klipspringer »

Klipspringer wrote: Wed Oct 02, 2019 11:14 am https://lowvelder.co.za/505823/hole-knp ... ers-dream/

Hole in KNP fence a poacher’s dream
Elephants are being poached in the Kruger National Park at a shocking rate. A piece of missing fence at the south-eastern border of the KNP is contributing to this.
about 1 hour ago

CROCODILE BRIDGE – Albert Gryvenstein, from Bossies Community Justice (BCJ), criticized the fact that approximately 60 elephants were allegedly driven across the South African border fence during the course of last week, at the confluence of the Komati and Crocodile rivers, through a gap approximately two kilometres in length.

“A reliable source, who wishes to stay anonymous, informed me that elephants guided through the opening by poachers are shot on the Mozambican side. It is not reported on and no-one will give you statistics, because it is done on the other side,” Gryvenstein said.

He stated that neither SANParks nor the government wants to take responsibility for fixing the fence.

The communications manager for the KNP, Isaac Phaahla, highlighted that SANParks does not own any of the fences erected at the KNP.

“The fences are owned by the Animal Health Directorate for Disease Control and the missing piece of fence must be repaired by their teams.”

Dr Marietta Bronkhorst, deputy director at the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’ (DAFF) animal health division, explained that they are mandated to prevent and control infectious diseases in the country.

“Buffalo in the KNP are permanent carriers of certain diseases, including foot- and-mouth disease,” she said.

She emphasised in an official statement that the main aim of DAFF is to prevent the escape of buffalo from the KNP into adjacent communities.

“Officials from the Directorate of Animal Health are involved in maintenance work along the western and southern boundaries, where it serves a disease control purpose,” Bronkhorst said. She added that “the safety and security of all animals in the KNP is the responsibility of SANParks, and any concerns regarding the movement or possible poaching activities must be addressed directly with them.”

Richard Prinsloo, a committee member of African Wild, explained that the Crocodile River is the KNP’s border on the southern side and that SANParks is the owner of the land on which the fence has been erected.

“When it comes to an international border fence dispute, there may be some contention about who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of the fence, the South African or the Mozambican authorities, and I think that is the loophole the government is utilising to escape liability,” he said.

Neither Phaahla nor Bronkhorst could provide Lowvelder with statistics with regards to the number of elephant and rhino which have been illegally poached because of this oversight.
An update on this:
https://www.pressreader.com/south-afric ... 3767495705


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Re: Elephant Management and Poaching in South Africa

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SANParks bear responsibility to fix fence
Repair of the fence on the south-eastern border of the Kruger National Park (KNP) has commenced, six weeks after Lowvelder started questioning the park about it.
7 hours ago
Charl Pienaar

Broken-down fence near the border with Mozambique.


Image

CROCODILE BRIDGE – The newspaper reported a month ago how a number of elephants were driven through a gap in the KNP fence approximately two kilometres in length.

It happened at the confluence of the Komati and Crocodile rivers, which was confirmed by a source close to the newspaper.

“Our general manager of technical services has submitted the specifications and work has begun on some sections of the fence,” the general manager of communications at the KNP, Ike Phaahla, told Lowvelder this week.

After weeks of being unclear about who is responsible, it was confirmed that SANParks is performing the work, and that it is funded by the national Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI).

The department acknowledged that the borderline fencing project is managed through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the DPWI, Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF) and SANParks.

According to the DPWI’s Thami Mchunu, SANParks is “the implementing agent for the construction and maintenance of borderline fencing between KNP and Mozambique”.

He stated that the DPWI provides funding for the project and the DEFF assists in developing the specifications for the projects.

Phaahla confirmed on October 26 that SANParks would be fixing the missing fence.

Yet on September 13, SANParks denied accountability by stating that the Animal Health Directorate for Disease Control should send their teams to repair the dilapidated and broken-down fence.

Image

Dr Marietta Bronkhorst, deputy director at the DEFF’s animal health division, confirmed that they are mandated only to prevent and control infectious diseases in terms of Regulation 20A of the Animal Diseases Regulations.

“Officials are primarily involved with the maintenance of some of the fences on the western and southern boundaries of KNP, where these fences serve a disease control purpose,” Bronkhorst explained.

Phaahla again confirmed that the funding of the fence on the eastern boundary between the KNP and Mozambique is primarily the responsibility of the DPWI, without indicating who actually usurps the responsibility to fix the fence.



He indicated that poaching incidents can be ascribed to multiple factors, which are not necessarily fence related. “SANParks ranger services follow an integrated compliance programme to promote area integrity, not limited to fence matters,” he said.

Mchunu specified that according the MoU between the DPWI, DEFF and SANParks, the function of SANParks is to compile the specifications for the construction and maintenance of border roads and maintenance of existing fences and to compile and implement the project execution plan, that entails construction and maintenance programmes.

https://lowvelder.co.za/511045/sanparks ... fix-fence/


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Re: Elephant Management and Poaching in South Africa

Post by Lisbeth »

And while they are discussing the elephants are being killed :evil:

It's preposterous 0- 0= 0=


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