PARTICIPANTS Henry Lekochere- Team Leader John Malonza Pilias Lekeele Samuel Masaku Rajab Fundi 2 KWS Rangers AREAS COVERED During the month of June the Burra Team patrolled the following areas: Mwatate Sisal Estate, Sagalla Ranch, Dakota ranch and Lualenyi ranch. Total Snares Collected- 196 2 poachers arrested FINDINGS During the June patrols, 196 snares were collected in all the areas covered. Out of the total snares collected, 128 snares were targeting smaller game and 68 snares were designed to capture big game. Two dikdik and two bat eared fox carcasses were found snared at Sagalla ranch. The team also managed to arrest two poachers at Sagalla and Dakota ranches respectively. OBSERVABLE EVIDENCE Many of the areas patrolled revealed new and fresh snaring activities. The months finding showed an increased number of snares collected compared to that of the last two months. This can be attributed to several reasons, many of which are interconnected. The most obvious reason is as a result of the drought, with many poachers not returning to their farms after becoming reliant on poaching during the drought. Hence even though the rains arrived, few poachers returned to their previous occupations. Poverty is a major contributor to increased poaching. Poverty closely ties in with high levels of unemployment, illiteracy, misuse of natural resources and poor availability of governmental services such as education, electricity, water and other infrastructure. A high demand for ivory and other wildlife products has been another major cause of the increased poaching witnessed. Mwatate Sisal Estate The Team started the month’s patrols in Mwatate sisal estate. The land on this estate is used for sisal cultivation, livestock farming, and has several hundreds people who work and live on the estate. The property neighbors community land on both sides. With the area being highly populated, the wildlife residing in this region has fallen victim to high levels of snaring. The Team lifted 19 medium snares which were freshly laid.