VIDEO: Covid-19 leads to spike in wildlife snaring

THE Covid-19 pandemic has, over the last year, led to an “exponential’ spike in snaring across Africa.

This is according to Dr Ben Muller, a wildlife veterinarian and co-founder of Wildscapes Veterinary & Conservation Services. 

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Following the start of the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown the already staggering poverty rate in the country has soared, leaving many people destitute and jobless – forcing many more people to turn to poaching as either a source of food or income, explained the passionate veterinarian based in Hoedspruit in the Lowveld.

“We deal with it on a weekly basis. It has really gotten bad,” he said during a recent webinar hosted by Durban-based eco-warrior and founder of the NPO, Blue Sky Society Trust, Carla Geyser.

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“It is a terrible plague we are dealing with,” he said, adding they have even had cases in built-up areas.

What is most concerning, he said, was the fact that they do not have the amount of eyes and ears on the ground as they had pre-Covid.

Dr Muller said he suspects there are many cases that are being missed.

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One of Dr Muller’s recent patients, a female Wild Dog, had been caught in three snares – one was around her mouth, a second was wrapped around her front right leg while the third was wrapped around her hips.

It had pulled the skin from her body – nearly exposing her entire pelvis, he said. 

Fortunately, he said, wild animals are “phenomenal” at healing and adapting to injuries – even though they often endure intense pain and suffering.

Speaking to Geyser she said she was hoping to raise funds for the “vital” and often pro-bono work done by Dr Muller and fellow wildlife veterinarian, Dr Joel Alves.

“It is awful when any animal is caught in a snare, but it is especially sad and concerning that the endangered species also get caught,” said Geyser, who has become well-known for launching an all-female expedition across South Africa to raise awareness on elephant poaching.

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“I know everyone has donor fatigue and people are still caught in the Covid-19 bubble, so my aim is to provide people with 30 mins of escapism while also creating a platform where these amazing conservationists can tell their stories – and hopefully we can raise some funds for their projects along the way,” she said.

So far she has hosted three other webinars and raised over R5000 for the various conservation projects showcased in the series.

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People from as far as the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Iraq have tuned in.

The next webinar (date to be announced) will be on the Elephants Alive project.

For more information, email carla@blueskysociety.co.za or to support the snare project visit https://www.blueskysociety.org/donate/.

Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting