A SANParks (South Africa National Parks) employee tasked with the safeguarding of wild animals has allegedly been selling these animals to game hunters by means of fake permits.

The employee, who cannot be named until he has appeared in court, was arrested on Monday, following an investigation by the SANParks Environmental Crime Unit.

According to SANParks’ acting head of communications, Mr Reynold Thakhuli, the employee was working for the Mapungubwe National Park, which is also a world heritage site.

The employee, said Thakhuli in a press release, made use of official SANParks stationery to mislead professional hunters and game meat operators to come and hunt on Den Staat, which is a state-owned farm bordering Mapungubwe. “The misuse of official stationery made these illegal transactions appear to be an activity sanctioned by SANParks,” said Thakhuli.

As many as 16 groups a day would hunt illegally on Den Staat, which also borders with Botswana and Zimbabwe. Fake permits were allegedly arranged for the hunting of leopards and “other protected animals.”

In addition, Thakhuli said, the investigation unit positively connected ten hunters to the employee’s permits. The hunters came from Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Limpopo. They were not arrested but were warned to appear in court this coming month.