Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Murdered in cold blood... charity chief who saved thousands of elephants from poache
Nobody has saved more elephants than Wayne Lotter – a feat believed to have sealed his own fate with ruthless poachers. It was the majestic animals he could not protect that inspired his groundbreaking conservation work.
He arrived in Tanzania as elephants faced being hunted to extinction. But in five years he started winning the ivory wars by recruiting an army of gamekeepers and anti-poaching spies.
They arrested 1,500 in a year, including the notorious Ivory Queen, who is said to have made £2.6million selling 700 tusks to the Far East.
For years Wayne shrugged off death threats against him and his family.
But last week, on his way from the airport to his hotel in Dar es Salaam, a car swerved in front of his cab, forcing it to stop. Two men got out, one with a gun. They opened Wayne’s taxi door and shot him dead, before stealing his laptop.
Police believe he was murdered in cold blood by ivory smugglers who had tracked him for hours before executing him and gleefully announcing his death to the criminal underworld.
Many of the world’s leading conservationists have paid tribute to Wayne, 51, and condemned his murder. Prince William, a passionate campaigner and patron of the anti-poaching charity Tusk, said: “My deepest condolences to Wayne’s family for this senseless loss.
“This violent and apparently targeted murder shows just how dangerous the situation has become in relation to the big money associated with the illegal ivory and rhino horn trades.
“Rangers and conservationists put themselves in harm’s way every day to stop organised criminals destroying Africa’s natural resources.
“Governments and NGOS must win this fight for the sake of all of us.”
Dame Jane Goodall, famed for her conservation work with chimpanzees, counted Wayne as a close friend.
She said: “He was a hero of mine, a hero to many, who devoted his life to protecting Africa’s wildlife.
“His courage in the face of stiff opposition and personal threats, and his determination to keep on fighting has inspired many and encouraged them to keep fighting for wildlife.
“If this cowardly shooting was an attempt to bring his work to an end, it will fail. “Tho Way sadly W Prot tions
It coun W colle subje alarm eleph of th appr
Tw 110,0 tered expe been
He