Seven suspected rhino poachers, three of them South Africans, were arrested in Zimbabwe, leading to the recovery a .303 rifle fitted with a silencer and telescopic sight and a carbine.

The suspects were arrested last Friday, in the Chiredzi Safari Area outside Beit Bridge.

Local police are yet to confirm the arrest of three South Africans and four of their local partners suspected of rhino poaching in Chiredzi, but Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZPWMA) sources confirmed both the arrest and the recovery of the firearms. The latest poaching activities in the Save Valley Conservancy resulted in the death of a rhino and left its calf badly wounded by gunshots.

ZPWMA and its partners deployed a team last week that is currently on high alert, following increased poaching activities. The team includes the police and the Air Force of Zimbabwe. The team is expected to work with other officers who are prepared for instant reaction.

The director of the Lowveld Rhino Trust, Mr Raoul du Toit, bemoaned the low conviction rate in rhino poaching cases. “The police have been effective in arresting poachers or engaging them in gunfights. Their successes include the arrest of more than 30 suspected rhino poachers during the last year,” said Du Toit.

He said, however, that the hard work done by the law enforcement officers was often not complemented by the courts. “At the last Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species Conference of Parties held in Qatar in March 2010, Zimbabwe’s rate of conviction of suspects in rhino poaching cases was reported as being only 3 percent."

ZPWMA’s national rhino co-ordinator, Mr Geoffreys Matipano, said there had been a marked increase in the conviction of suspected poachers. “National Parks embarked on a training programme for public prosecutors and magistrates on rhino poaching and we have noted an improvement in the convictions secured. The whole chain from investigations to prosecution needs to be continually appraised of this serious crime of poaching endangered species,” said Matipano.

Du Toit said Zimbabwe had experienced a massive upsurge in poaching since 2007. “This poaching upsurge is partly because of internal factors in Zimbabwe and partly because of international factors. Internal factors include the high level of unemployment, which makes poaching attractive, and unplanned settlement within areas, such as conservancies and national parks. This presence of settlers in wildlife areas makes it difficult to identify poaching incursions and makes it possible for commercial rhino poachers to gather information from local people to guide their incursions,” said Du Toit.

He said external factors included new markets for rhino horn in Vietnam, besides the traditional market in China, Thailand and other Asian countries, where it is used for medicinal purposes. “With many more Asian buyers resident within Africa than there were some years ago, access to illegal horn markets is easier for the poachers and the prices are higher.“ It is, however, a myth that a rhino horn is worth its weight in gold.

"Some poachers are being motivated by misconceptions about the gains to be made from this illegal activity,” he said.

Matipano said while every effort had been made in matching the poachers’ sophisticated weaponry like AK47 assault rifles and other such equipment, intelligence gathering still remained a challenge. “Some of the locals have been used by foreign rhino poaching syndicates to provide intelligence for a fee, making it difficult in some instances to successfully block the poachers,” said Matipano.

The most serious rhino poaching within Zimbabwe is undertaken by well-organized gangs.

“Some of these gangs are also involved in the poaching of elephants for their ivory in northern Zimbabwe. Other gangs are involved in the poaching of zebras for their hides, especially in southern parts of the country, such as Beit Bridge. The zebra hides are smuggled to South Africa by syndicates and leaders of these syndicates supply Zimbabweans with weapons from South Africa, Zambia and Mozambique to do the poaching of zebras, elephants and, increasingly, of rhinos as well,” said Du Toit.

“In one case, informants identified a gang of alleged rhino poachers operating in the Mwenezi and Beit Bridge areas. They were apprehended in February and .303 rifle was found concealed in the tailgate of their Gauteng registered vehicle. The weapon was fitted with a telescopic sight and a silencer, which is illegal in Zimbabwe. The rifle’s serial number had been obliterated.

After a court in Beit Bridge released the suspect on a technicality months after his first trial, he was arrested again in April after intruding into the same area with a .375 rifle fitted with a silencer.

The suspect then named Johan Roos, a notorious horn smuggler based in Musina, as the supplier of this rifle. The rifle’s serial number was later traced to a brutal farm robbery in Limpopo Province. Despite possessing the stolen rifle that had been smuggled into Zimbabwe, the suspect was fined only US$100 by a local court for possessing an unlicensed firearm.

Matipano said local authorities had teamed up with regional security teams to try and curb rhino poaching in the country. “Fifteen cases involving rhino poaching were investigated from July to December 2009. Twenty- three accused persons were arrested and taken to court, resulting in 11 cases being thrown out for lack of sufficient evidence. Four cases resulted in four people being convicted, with only two being acquitted. Nine cases are still pending in the courts, while nine poachers were killed during exchange of gunfire with park rangers and the police,” he said.

Matipano said 12 rhino horns and other wildlife products were recovered.