Wildlife at the Manie Mulder Adventure Centre is being decimated by poachers.
The Roodepoort Record undertook a tour of the centre grounds recently with Keeping the West Wild co-founders Georgina Lackinger and Peace Mannapula to gauge the extent of the problem and found a dire situation unfolding at this park that was once a point of pride in the region.
According to Lackinger, poaching has escalated to unprecedented levels in recent months.
“We remove heaps of snares every time we patrol here,” says Lackinger. “New snares are set daily, and we simply cannot keep up with removing them.
“It is having a devastating effect on the wildlife that roam this area.”
Unlike the Kloofendal Nature Reserve, the Manie Mulder Adventure Centre is not known for having bigger wildlife species.
“It is mostly small mammals that are targeted here,” she adds. “As poaching decimates the wildlife population residing here, we are seeing more and more rock hyrax [dassies] being caught in the snares.
“Dassies are not considered edible by the poachers, so they simply discard the carcasses.”
Lackinger attributes the rise in poaching to an influx of vagrants in the area, as well as to the fact that there are no protocols in place to control or monitor access to the centre.
“We are seeing a rise in displaced people taking up occupation in open areas. Nothing is done by the authorities to control this.
“You can walk from Roodekrans clear through to Krugersdorp. Anyone can access the area and, while we do not propose that people should be stopped from accessing the area, we do believe that there should be some controls in place.”
The Record’s tour through the Manie Mulder Centre revealed more than one small vagrant camp, as well as a surprising number of people visiting the area for religious purposes as streams, rivers, and waterfalls hold significance in traditional African ancestor worship practices.
Johannesburg City Parks and Zoos (JCPZ) senior manager of protected areas and environmental enforcement Bishop Ngobeli confirmed to the Record that JPCZ park rangers have recently started conducting regular patrols of the Manie Mulder Adventure Centre.
“We are actively undertaking anti-poaching measures at the centre, and we are keen to work with the religious groups, residents, as well as conservation organisations to find a solution to the problems that are being experienced here.”
