War on ivory gangs must be won, says Duke

Prince William speaks out after leading anti-poaching campaigner is found shot dead in Tanzania

THE Duke of Cambridge says the fight against the “murderous” illegal ivory traders “must be won for the sake of all of us” after a prominent anti-poaching campaigner was shot dead.

Prince William, the patron of the conservation charity Tusk, has led tributes to Wayne Lotter, 51, who was murdered in Tanzania last week.

Mr Lotter, the director and cofounder of the PAMS Foundation, a body that aims to protect elephants and giraffes by providing anti-poaching support to communities and governments in Africa, was targeted as he travelled in a taxi. Police said two men stopped his car using another vehicle, opened the door and shot him.

Last night, Prince William hit out at the escalating problems with poaching gangs and urged greater action. “Wayne Lotter’s violent and apparently targeted murder shows just how dangerous the situation has become in relation to the big money that is associated with the illegal ivory and rhino horn trades,” he said.

“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, especially those in communities whose livelihoods are being plundered by murderous criminals. My deepest condolences to Wayne’s family and all those at PAMS Foundation for this senseless loss.”

Tanzania’s National and Transnational Serious Crimes Investigation Unit (NTSCIU) has arrested nearly 900 poachers and illegal ivory traders.

They include the 2015 arrests of Boniface Matthew Maliango and “ivory queen” Yang Feng Glan, two of the country’s most notorious poaching and ivory trading figures.

Shortly before his death, Mr Lotter said that the intelligence-led antipoaching campaign he is credited with spearheading had succeeded in slowing population decline.

In a statement Tusk said: “Initial suspicions are that his ongoing work to combat the illegal wildlife trade, which had prompted numerous threats against him, may well have led to his tragic death at the hands of criminals who wanted him out of the way.

“Mr Lotter was known for his tireless and courageous work against poaching gangs and the corruption that protects the middlemen and kingpins who mercilessly exploit the illegal trade in endangered species. With his partner, Krissie Clark, he had been totally committed to his conservation work since establishing PAMS in 2009.”

The conservationist started his career as a ranger in his native South Africa before moving to East Africa to combat poaching in Tanzania.

Through his work with PAMS he was responsible for training hundreds of village game scouts in that country.

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