Escalating cases of poisoning and snaring continue to threaten Botswana’s conservation efforts in the north western part of Botswana, considered the country’s heart of tourism.
This has prompted Conservation of Natural Ecosystems Trust (CONNECT)’s collaboration with the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) and other various stakeholders from both the private and public sectors.to initiate robust means of curbing the acts.
In an interview, CONNECT researcher, Robyn Flemix highlighted that through four coordinated de-snaring campaigns conducted over the past six months, they have removed more than 273 snares across three focus areas of Chobe, North West and Okavango districts.
This is estimated to represent approximately 20–30% of existing snares, highlighting the scale of pressure.
This collaboration has also made strides in removing active snares from wildlife including elephants, lions, wild dogs, hyenas, waterbucks, and zebras. Flemix says operating in remote landscapes poses significant logistical challenges for detection and removal.
Since January 2025, CONNECT, DWNP, and partner organisations have also documented 149 vulture and raptor mortalities linked to poisoning incidents in northern Botswana. These figures represent only incidents in which partners were directly involved and do not reflect all poisoning events nationally.
Flemix said they are planning to implement a range of preventative measures designed to reduce poisoning and snaring incidents before they occur. The efforts, she said – will focus on improving early detection, strengthening response capacity, and supporting long-term ecosystem protection.
“CONNECT plans to expand into structured capacity-building and awareness initiatives, aimed at strengthening prevention of poisoning and snaring through improved skills, knowledge sharing, and community engagement,” she emphasized.
The trust’s work is currently focused primarily on northern Botswana, particularly in landscapes where wildlife and community activities overlap and risks of poisoning and snaring are higher.
Flemix noted that their intention is to use these areas as operational learning sites, with future expansion into additional regions as partnerships and resources allow. She alluded that improved reporting and incident documentation systems will allow faster detection, information sharing, and coordinated response. The researcher added that it also enhances multi-agency collaboration, ensuring wildlife, veterinary, and law enforcement partners can respond collectively and efficiently.
She said strengthening monitoring approaches, particularly for sensitive species and high-risk areas, to help identify threats early and guide preventative action is much anticipated, adding these planned initiatives aim to gradually shift conservation responses from reactive incident management toward proactive prevention and ecosystem-based protection.
As the programme grows, CONNECT intends to expand partnerships to support community awareness and engagement, training, technical exchange, and preventative conservation initiatives.
