Community action group fights wildlife crime, removing 71 snares from Ballito greenbelts
Their most recent sweep targeted the green belt below Ballito Hills development and above Simbithi Eco Estate.
Durban-based organisation Snare Aware removed a further 71 snares from the North Coast over three recent trips.
The non-profit snare sweeping organisation has now taken a total of 161 snares out of operation between three local green belts, all situated near building sites.
Fifty-three were found in Sheffield Manor, while 37 were discovered next to the Zimbali Lakes development.
Follow-up sweeps saw no new snares found, which has allowed the team to move on to other affected areas.
Photo: Snare Aware
Their most recent sweep targeted the green belt below Ballito Hills development and above Simbithi Eco Estate.
In a few hours of work spread over three sweeps, the two-man team found 33, 13 and 25 snares respectively.
“The construction site for the Ballito Hills development is what drew our attention to this area, as we know that snares will always be found in greenbelts next to construction sites. Our hunch was spot on,” said Snare Aware, who asked for their members to not be identified for fear of reprisal.
The team identified two different groups of poachers which could be told apart by their snare setting methods.
“Poachers from the construction site had very thoughtfully disabled all of their snares while they were back home for the Christmas construction shutdown period,” said Snare Aware.
Photo: Snare Aware.
“The other poacher, utilising completely different techniques was still very active, with 20 of the snares attributed to him.”
Snare Aware said they thought there was likely a thriving bush meat trade in Ballito given the number of snares discovered in the three areas.
“Our wildlife are facing a deadly combination of habitat loss and destruction due to development, and intense snaring of the small patches of habitat that is still remaining in among all the developments.
“Despite the odds, Snare Aware will continue to work towards safeguarding small undeveloped greenbelts for as long as possible, to ensure our natural heritage stands a chance of surviving.”
Find them on Facebook at Snare Aware, where you can also find a link to help support future snare removal efforts.
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