Zimbabwe specialist anti-poaching K9 unit honoured in Rwanda

As first appeared in Zim Morning Post, here. Written by Farayi Machamire.

July 21 2022

The ranger team, which has secured over 189 years in prison sentencing for poachers, won an award for its efforts

A ranger accepts the award at the inaugural Africa Protected Areas Congress in Rwanda .

Image by ZimMorningPost.

Anti-Poaching Tracking Specialists (ATS) team, whose tireless work in the Savé Valley Conservancy in south eastern Zimbabwe has dismantled dozens of notorious rhino poaching syndicates, has won the IUCN WCPA International Ranger Award at Africa Protected Area Congress in Rwanda.

The ATS team was honoured in Rwanda on Wednesday night by the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA), together with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

In total, seven individual rangers and three ranger teams, from 10 countries in Latin America, Africa, Asia and Australasia were acknowledged for going beyond the call of duty to protect the earth’s wild places and wildlife, and to support local communities.

Bryce Clemence, Director and Head Ranger of ATS said the specialist unit was “incredibly honoured to receive the WCPA International Ranger Award. Thank you to the IUCN, to Wild and to the Game Rangers Association of Africa for this recognition.”

Andrew Campbell, Director of the Game Rangers Association of Africa said the ATS K9 unit is one of the most active and results oriented rhino anti-poaching organisations in Southern Africa.

ATS oversees a critical stronghold for rhino in the Savé Valley Conservancy, which harbours 25% of Zimbabwe’s black rhino population.

“The bush knowledge and tracking skills of the rangers are exemplary, it is a great asset to have Bryce Clemence as an ambassador for the GRAA,” Campbell said.

Australia based NGO, Save African Rhino Foundation, which has been working in Zimbabwe for 35 years says the ATS team has played a pivotal role in fighting wildlife crime.

The award was collected on behalf of the ATS team by Zimbabwe’s Deputy Minister of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Barbara Rwodzi, and the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority Director Fulton Mangwanya, who are in Rwanda, representing the country at the Africa Protected Area Congress.

ATS, Anti-poaching Tracking Specialists comprise of 11 Malinois dog APU, who track to contact poachers in the illegal wildlife trade in Zimbabwe.

Over the last 12 years, together with Zimbabwe Republic Police and Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, ATS has successfully apprehended some of the country’s most notorious regional poachers and gang members.

Dismantling critical network pathways and infiltrating vital communication channels that have been devastating to the rhino and protected species population in Zimbabwe.

“ATS was initially formed in 2010, in reaction to the country-wide, rhino poaching surge, as a training organisation to support ZimParks with rangers in Intensive Protection Zones for wildlife,” the specialist said in a statement.

“ATS Directors, Peter and Bryce Clemence, have trained hundreds of rangers for anti-poaching units in South Africa, Zambia, Malawi, Rwanda, Congo, and Zimbabwe.”

Operating for 10 years in the Savé Valley Conservancy, the team has been credited with over 189 years of prison sentences for rhino poachers, putting a significant wedge in the crime syndicates.

In the last four years, there have been 29 rhino poachers apprehended. So far this year, ATS has already had three court cases involving rhino poachers.

“This award to the ranger team has come despite operating in the face of adversity, with the results of a positive growth population of rhino. Under the protection of ATS, the rhino population in Savé Valley Conservancy has seen a biological growth rate of 7%, this is above the 5% IUCN recommendation for game reserves protecting rhino, and maintained a poaching mortality rate of below 2%, also IUCN recommended,” ATS further said.

The International Ranger Awards were established with the support of the International Ranger Federation, Conservation Allies, Re:wild and the Global Tiger Initiative.

Rangers are the guardians of protected and conserved areas around the world.

They face many challenges and duties – be it combating poaching and land-grabbing, preventing human-animal conflict, fighting fires, acting as an early warning system for threats and problems, and looking after the welfare of wildlife, local communities, and visitors.

Often working for little reward and with much risk, it is a sobering statistic that over the past decade, more than 1000 rangers have been killed in the line of duty.

It is in this light, that the IUCN WCPA International Ranger Awards seek to recognise rangers that have gone above-and-beyond the call of duty, to protect wildlife and support local communities, be it at the individual or team level.

The awards were established with the support of the International Ranger Federation, Conservation Allies, and Global Wildlife Conservation.

This article is reproduced here as part of the African Conservation Journalism Programme, funded in Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe by USAID’s VukaNow: Activity. Implemented by the international conservation organization Space for Giants, it aims to expand the reach of conservation and environmental journalism in Africa, and bring more African voices into the international conservation debate.