Anti-Poaching Initiative launched in The Congo by coalition of charities
14/08/2006 00:00:00November 2007. Two leading conservation charities, The Aspinall Foundation and Tusk Trust, have joined forces to establish a fully equipped anti-poaching patrol post in the Congo’s Lefini Reserve - home to The Aspinall Foundation’s world renowned gorilla reintroduction project.
The Tusk funded Loubilika patrol post, located in the north–western edge of the reserve, will be staffed by a team of five specially trained eco-guards. The newly constructed post will play a vital role in the protection of the fifty western lowland gorillas living in the reserve, many orphaned by the bushmeat trade and sold illegally as pets before being rescued and rehabilitated by The Aspinall Foundation.
Using the patrol post as a base, the guards will monitor the movements of hunters and fishermen travelling along the Loubilika River, which borders the reserve, and track the movements of the gorilla groups.
Poaching is a major threat
Poaching is one of the most serious threats to the future of the western lowland gorilla, whose population has halved over the last twenty years. If numbers continue to decline at the present rate, the species will be extinct by 2020. To highlight the plight of these extraordinary creatures, the World Conservation Union recently added the western lowland gorilla to its list of critically endangered species.
In September 2007, Amos Courage, Overseas Project Director at The Aspinall Foundation, led a Tusk Trust fact finding mission to the Congo headed up the charity’s founder, Charlie Mayhew. Following their visit to the patrol post, Tusk Trustees will now provide further support for staffing and maintenance, increasing their 2007 contribution to £28,275.
Using the patrol post as a base, the guards will monitor the movements of hunters and fishermen travelling along the Loubilika River, which borders the reserve, and track the movements of the gorilla groups.
Poaching is a major threat
Poaching is one of the most serious threats to the future of the western lowland gorilla, whose population has halved over the last twenty years. If numbers continue to decline at the present rate, the species will be extinct by 2020. To highlight the plight of these extraordinary creatures, the World Conservation Union recently added the western lowland gorilla to its list of critically endangered species.
In September 2007, Amos Courage, Overseas Project Director at The Aspinall Foundation, led a Tusk Trust fact finding mission to the Congo headed up the charity’s founder, Charlie Mayhew. Following their visit to the patrol post, Tusk Trustees will now provide further support for staffing and maintenance, increasing their 2007 contribution to £28,275.
