Congolese army destroying the wildlife of the Virunga National Park

A lioness killed for bushmeat by Congo Army soldiers. Photo credit Gorilla CD

March 2010. Over the past month we have suffered a growing number of very serious poaching incidents across the central savannas of the park.

These killings have affected the elephant population (which has declined by 90% in the past twenty years) the buffaloes, and more recently lions, which are critically endangered in eastern Africa. We have had 5 elephant killings in the last four days.

Congolese Army responsible
Unfortunately, we now have unquestionable proof that it is elements in the Congolese army who are largely responsible for these killings. There are eight battalions (over 5000 soldiers) stationed in and around the park, and our rangers, who number just over 500, cannot effectively protect all the wildlife all of the time.

How you can help
We need much more effective surveillance to keep the national park safe, and deploy our rangers quickly and effectively when there are poachers looking for elephants. For that we desperately need an aircraft. We've found the perfect aircraft for our needs, which is a Cessna 182 built in 1959. It's old but in perfect condition, and as it has high wings, it offers excellent visibility below. It also has an extended and strengthened undercarriage for the rough airstrips that we have to use.

We have support from the European Union for running costs for the next two years but we need to buy the aircraft for US$75,000. We've managed to raise just under $25,000, so need to raise a further $50,000 as soon as we can.

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