Good Samaritan to the rescue after confiscating a poached grey duiker

Crow received a call from a concerned member of the public from Hammarsdale, who informed them that he had confiscated a male grey duiker as it was a victim of poaching. Picture: Crow

Crow received a call from a concerned member of the public from Hammarsdale, who informed them that he had confiscated a male grey duiker as it was a victim of poaching. Picture: Crow

Published Mar 31, 2023

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Durban — A Good Samaritan came to the rescue of a poached duiker when he confiscated the animal from its poacher.

The Centre for Rehabilitation of Wildlife (Crow) reported that on Sunday it received a call from a concerned member of the public from Hammarsdale, who informed them that he had confiscated a male grey duiker as it was a victim of poaching. He had taken the grey duiker and placed him in his tool shed.

“Adult male duiker are strong and in order for him to be released safely, he needed to be darted,” Crow said.

The centre said that thanks to the great collaboration between Crow, the vet and a generous donation by the member of the public that came to the rescue, they were able to dart the grey duiker and release it safely.

“Unfortunately, reports of poaching are increasing in the Hammarsdale area, which required us to release the grey duiker in another area,” Crow said.

If you encounter a situation where an animal has been poached, do not hesitate to report this to your local SPCA, so we can stop this from happening again, it said.

A roll of different steel wires was found not far from where a snare had been set in a greenbelt. Picture: Snare Aware

Meanwhile, earlier this month, Snare Aware reported that at the end of February, the Snare Aware team headed out to a local hotspot, Karridene, to re-sweep the area that has been one of its most active greenbelts with regards to poaching.

Snare Aware said the team thoroughly swept multiple old hotspots and was pleased to find them clear of snares and any human activity.

“We then headed towards the eastern edge of the belt and after tackling some very thick and tricky conditions, came across a lot of rubbish and human activity. A roll of different steel material, very often used to set snares in this greenbelt, was found stashed next to a tree. The path was followed and a single snare was found at the entry point, albeit not a very well-set snare pointing to an inexperienced poacher or group of poachers just trying their luck. A far cry from the expert snare set-ups that we are used to finding in this particular area,” Snare Aware said.

Total snares found in the Karridene area to date. Picture: Snare Aware
The only snare found on the day, poorly set but an attempt at a snare nonetheless. Picture: Snare Aware

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