The Women Who Fight Animal Poaching

It’s Unique – Women Are Fighting Animal Poaching in Order To Protect Wildlife. They Might Just Win!

They’ve had a disadvantaged background and upbringing. Many of them are victims of abuse. But these women have found a new purpose – and it’s completely changing their lives. For the better. What are they doing? They’re stopping animal poaching and protecting wildlife.

In Africa, armed patrols to protect wildlife are carried out exclusively by men. Now women are proving highly successful – and it’s not always popular.

The man who started the project, Damien Mander, says:- “There’s a saying in Africa, ‘If you educate a man, you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman, you educate a nation’”

He believes that empowering women is one of the greatest forces of change in the world today.

Opposition To Women Stopping Animal Poaching

Mander meets a lot of opposition against his all-women teams, mainly because they are  armed. He says it’s sad that the patrols need to be armed, but sending them out to stop animal poaching without guns would be irresponsible, as most poachers are heavily armed.

He makes an excellent point that by employing women rangers, he has double the pool of potential recruits. It’s also provided additional funding. Funding for wildlife protection is quite sparse – but a programme with women at the helm could access funds dedicated to women’s empowerment – which are more than double those available for conservation.

The Founder Was Astonished

Mander has a military background, and says he made a career out of “bringing fairly hardened men to the point of breaking”. The women who trialled for the ranger positions had zero military or other training. They were put through a gruelling 3-day endurance program – and only three women dropped out – an astonishingly low rate, considering that the vast majority of male ranger recruits for the same job typically quit early on.

Are They Successful At Stopping Poaching and Protecting Wildlife?

In their first 11 months of operation, the women have made or contributed to 72 arrests without firing a single shot. Plus, there also have so far been no hints of corruption – the creeping bane of conservation. That’s very significant.

Are they saving wildlife? At the moment, the evidence is anecdotal, not scientific. But ranger patrols used to see large wildlife (e.g. elephant, rhino) about once a week. Now they see them every day. It seems animals are returning to the area, presumably feeling less threatened. That’s wonderful!

The Female Factor

And this is even more interesting. Based on ranger reports, dangerous species like buffalo and elephant seem to behave less aggressively towards the women than towards male rangers.

The theory needs to be tested, but it’s thought that because animals are clever and can differentiate between something that poses danger to them and something that does not, they don’t view women rangers as a threat because the animals know that most poachers are men.

There’s something else too. The women rangers have so far managed to resolve conflicts using de-escalation techniques and non-lethal force. By comparison, male rangers tend to be more aggressive and quicker to kill.

The Trickle-Down Effect of Women Stopping Animal Poaching

Earning a regular income has made a huge difference to the women. They are able to build a house, send their children to school, perhaps finish their own education and send their kids to college or university. To quote one of the rangers: “When you employ men – not all men, but some – they can be irresponsible with money, despite the fact that they have kids. But with women, once they get money, in most cases they support their kids.”

What Of The Future?

It’s still very early in the programme to know if it’s going to be a long term success. Certainly just patrolling is not an answer long-term – community buy-in is required to help protect wildlife. Many of the women rangers give up their time to go to speak at local schools. They are changing hearts and minds – and they’re also treated like heroes.

Conclusion

All too often we see utterly depressing news about animal poaching. It is on the rise and it’s a very, very difficult problem to solve. But these women ARE making a difference – in protecting wildlife, empowering themselves and their children, and changing hearts and minds. And that’s great!

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Warm regards,

P.S.  Don’t forget to download your free green living handbook “Live Well, Live Green” here.

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