Limpopo farmer suspects inside job after three lions killed

A poaching incident at a lion park in Limpopo in which three male lions were killed for their heads and paws has left a young farmer angered.

Andre de Lange‚ owner of the Tzaneen Lion and Predator Park situated in the Letaba River Lodge‚ said he had suffered damages of R900 000 after the three male lions were killed on Tuesday night‚ with staff coming across the carcasses on Wednesday morning.

De Lange‚ who suffered a similar attack six months ago‚ said: “This time round‚ the damages are a lot more. It is a big mess.”

He believes that it was either an inside job or someone from the inside had to provide information as the poachers had to cut through three wire fences and bypass an advanced alarm system.

“The public can't come near their enclosure‚ the guests don't come close. It had to be someone with knowledge about the park‚” he said.

De Lange said lion poaching had become a big issue for lion farmers like himself‚ as they were often poached with the intent of being used as muti.

“If it continues like this‚ I will have to leave this industry. It is just to costly and it becomes impossible to continue in this industry‚” he said. “I don't have insurance because it costs around R100 000 per month to insure a lion and I don’t even make that much money.

“I am a young farmer. If it continues like this‚ all young farmers will leave the industry and find something else to do‚" he said.

Last year‚ during the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) conference held in Johannesburg‚ there was a plea from nine African countries to uplist lions to the maximum level of protection as an endangered species‚ but the request was voted against at the conference.

Limpopo police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Moatshe Ngoepe has confirmed that police in Tzaneen have launched a manhunt for the suspects involved.

“It is alleged that an unknown number of suspects have cut the fence and entered the lion cage at Letaba River Lodge outside Tzaneen and killed three brown male lions‚” he said.

"Subsequently‚ they cut all those lions' legs‚ paws and heads and the total value of this lions is R900 000."

Ngoepe said police were still investigating and had made no arrests yet.

 – TMG Digital/The Times