Murder highlights threat of ivory poacher gangs

ORGANISED crime syndicates involved in the illegal ivory trade are targeting wildlife protection campaigners, conservationists have warned, following the murder of a prominent advocate in Africa.

Wayne Lotter, 51, was shot dead in Tanzania on Wednesday, after his taxi was ambushed by two men, said police. The South African was a director and co-founder of the PAMS Foundation, an NGO that aims to protect elephants and giraffes by providing anti-poaching support in Africa.

Mr Lotter had reportedly received numerous death threats since setting up PAMS Tanzania in 2009.

Peter Carr, investigations director at the Endangered Species Protection Agency, an NGO, said: “The assassination underlines the seriousness of the organised crime syndicates behind the illegal wildlife trade. Wildlife custodians are putting their lives on the line daily in this current poaching crisis.”

A recent census found that Africa’s elephant population had plummeted by 30 per cent between 2007 and 2014, leaving just 352,271 animals.

Tanzania has been called the “epicentre” of the catastrophic decline, losing some 60 per cent of its elephants in just five years.