Snare Aware shares its 2023 achievements
Some volunteers who assist Snare Aware walked 2 066km during the year, combing areas for illegal snares.
SNARE Aware shares its 2023 achievements with a review of snare removals, education and awareness programmes as well as outreach and assistance initiatives.
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A member of the non-profit organisation, whose identity cannot be disclosed due to safety concerns, said 2023 was another busy and emotional roller coaster of a year for its small team of volunteers who gave up a lot of their free time to make a positive contribution to the world.
“We had a very successful year, reaching thousands of people both directly and indirectly, and eradicating snaring in a number of hotspot areas. Our impacts are multiplied when training others and equipping them with the skills to also be able to do what we do. Our impact would be significantly smaller without all the volunteers who pitched up at public events, conservancy training sessions or presentations. A big thank you to everyone who has contributed to Snare Aware’s success in 2023,” said the member.
Snare removal:
A total of 396 snares were removed during 79 clean sweeps. The hotspots were Sheffield Manor (53 snares), Ballito Hills (46), Umgababa/Karridene (45), Lower Mpushini (42) and Zimbali Lakes (37). To date, 1 591 snares have been removed.
Education and awareness:
Snare Aware reached 113 200 people via social media posts and thousands via newspaper publications. Members hosted 12 training workshops with conservancies, reserves, honorary officers and anti-poaching units, as well as five awareness presentations to schools, non-profit organisations and other organisations.
Outreach and assistance:
Snare Aware assisted six conservancies and three reserves, trained two anti-poaching units in snare identification and removal, travelled 11 754km, spent 1 968 man hours and walked 2 066km. There was also assistance and collaboration with various other organisations.
For more information, visit the Facebook page, Snare Aware.
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