By SIMON MUNTEMBA
THERE is need for relevant authorities to intensify the anti-poaching efforts to counter the poaching onslaught that has beset the national parks in Itezhi-tezhi, Chief Munyama has said.
Chief Munyama said poachers have invaded the area, posing a danger of depleting wildlife species.
He disclosed that Kafue National Park and the surrounding areas was experiencing a poaching crisis, and that failure to stop the vice would lead to future generations not benefitting from the tourism industry.
Chief Munyama also announced that the traditional leaders in the district were planning to set up game ranches to curb poaching.
He disclosed that the royal establishment was in talks with the wildlife authority to grant them permission to form game ranches to protect animals from poachers and generate income through tourism.
Chief Munyama has also called on residents of Itezhi-tezhi to help the government in bringing poaching and encroachment in national parks to a stop by reporting suspicious vehicles in the area. He called for mindset change from looking at “wildlife as relish” to wildlife as a tourism product and a forex earner that contributed to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
He said the government on its own could not effectively manage such a vast land and there was need for the communities near the park to help protect natural resources.
