By Lynn Clifford, WAG Field manager
Poaching incidences are on the increase in Thuma Forest (Malawi) especially poacher hunting with dogs, bows, arrows and spears! Last week two suspects were arrested and this morning our brave anti-poaching rangers arrested 3 more, one being one of the most notorious poachers from dedza who has been a very large thorn in our side all of this year! A second offender! All suspects have been handed over to the police for prosecution. Another win for our rangers!!
On average this year the hunting and killing of wildlife by men with dogs is extremely high, they are aggressive and rangers are assaulted in the course of their duty! These rangers only make $3 bucks a day. That is why we rely on generous donors to keep these men in the field. Otherwise poachers would overrun the forest and kill more and more wild animals to oblivion.
Why do poachers use dogs? The dogs track, hunt and catch the animal quickly which is then hacked and or speared to death by the poachers. On average a team of poachers can kill up to 3 animals each time they hunt ! A huge loss for the Malawian government and the countries prospects of being a tourism destination!
All of these animals — whether elephants, warthogs, kudus, duikers, and more — are killed for commercial gain NOT subsistence. It’s greed for profit.
This is the 11th dog poacher team arrested since September 2024 thanks to our courageous rangers. We can win this war on wild animals with your support.
Ranger injured while capturing poachers.
Thanks for reading.
Elefence International, Inc. 
My 12-year-old daughter, a supporter of Elefence & a dog lover, wants to express her concern not only at the increase of poaching, but for the dogs themselves who are being used in this way. She wants to know whether the dogs get good homes when the poachers are arrested, or are they left to fend for themselves? Also, with the increase in canine conservation, especially in the poaching ‘sector,’ are WAG rangers able to employ dogs in the counter-attack on poaching?
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That is a very good question Erin. I will ask Lynn, the WAG field manager, What happens to the dogs used to hunt game.
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Erin, Lynn has sadly reported to me that many times the dogs escape when the owners are caught and run loose to kill again. Sadly the dogs that are caught must be euthanized. They have been trained to hunt and bring down game and are loyal to only one master. Lynn has her sidekick, Tariq, which is a big razorback hound who is her constant companion and she is a dedicated dog lover. Lynn is heartbroken that this step has to be taken but there is no hope of rehabilitating these dogs. It is Lynn’s goal to make poaching with dogs so unprofitable and have such strict penalties that the practice will stop. Life is hard in the African bush
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