Posted on 30 April 2013
- Yokadouma, South-East Cameroun - Cameroonian
authorities arrested 20 suspected wildlife
criminals and confiscated 45 guns during
a ten-day operation that targeted elephant
poachers in the southeast of the country.
Thirty-nine forest rangers, backed by 25
soldiers of the country’s rapid intervention
battalion carried out the operation which
lasted from April 15 to 26, 2013.
Of those arrested, two suspects caught with
an AK47 will stand trial in a military tribunal.
The local justice department formally charged
18 other suspects, seven of whom were remanded
to custody while the remaining 11 were released
on bail. During the operation, rangers also
seized two ivory tusks, as well as gorilla,
chimp and elephant meat.
Clashes
During the operations, a suspect, who threatened
to fire at rangers, was shot in the leg.
Another, who attempted to harm an eco-guard
with a machete, was wounded in the left
arm.
Djogo Toumouksala, East Regional Delegate
for the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife
for the east region of Cameroon, told WWF
the objectives of the operation were largely
attained.
“With the seizure of 45 arms, 337 ammunitions,
10 chainsaws and more than 3000 wire cables,
we have inflicted a heavy blow on wildlife
criminals,” he said.
“Their ability to wreak havoc on elephants
and other species has been curtailed.”
“Though this region is rich in wildlife,
it is constantly menaced by the proliferation
of arms,” Tomouksala added, promising more
such operations in the future.
Arms circulation
The operation comes at the backdrop of armed
conflict in neighboring Central African
Republic. Conservationists fear a rise in
the circulation of war arms in the southeast
of Cameroon putting elephants and people
in danger.
“If there is one lesson this operation has
taught us, it is that poachers are well
armed and do not hesitate to shoot at ecoguards,”
said Gilles Etoga, WWF Project Manager for
Boumba-Bek and Nki National Parks, in the
area where the operations were held.
“We do not have a full measure of the degree
of wildlife carnage in southeast Cameroon
– the forests here are some of the most
inaccessible areas on earth outside of Antarctica.”
“But our information leads us to believe
that poaching is a serious – and constant
– problem in the region.”
Although precise numbers of surviving individuals
are difficult to come by, elephant poaching
began increasing dramatically in 2008 –
tracking a worldwide increase in ivory prices.
However, a recent study shows that poachers,
who increasingly use automatic weapons such
as AK47s, have decimated 62 percent of the
Congo Basin’s forest elephants in the past
ten years.
Wildlife criminals need to be prosecuted
to the full extent of the law
Alain Ononino, who heads WWF’s wildlife
law enforcement program in Cameroon, urged
local authorities to follow-up on these
arrests by ensuring that those proven guilty
will be punished for their crimes.
“This is an opportunity for Cameron to show
the whole world and all those involved in
elephant poaching and illegal wildlife trade
that it is serious about stamping out this
activity,” he said.
“Under Cameroonian law, whoever is caught
in possession of live or dead protected
species – including its parts – is considered
to have killed this animal and can thus
be punished by up to three years in prison.”
“Cameroon’s judicial authorities should
prosecute all these suspects to the full
extent of the law,” Ononino concluded.
