Serengeti De-Snaring Program

Poaching remains a major challenge to conservation in Tanzania. In the Serengeti, tour operators are now supporting Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) by funding the Frankfurt Zoological Society supported de-snaring program in the Serengeti.

• Experienced teams under the Tanzania National Parks Authority work with former poachers
• Regular searches in the most troubled areas of the Serengeti National Park
• Thousands of snares removed
• Hundreds of animals released alive from snares
• Disrupting snaring and meat poaching in the park
• Strong support from the Tanzania National Parks Authority and tourism operators in the park

Snaring mainly targets abundant species such as wildebeest, which are killed for the meat. But snares are also deadly traps for many other animals that are not targeted, such as predators or elephants.

The Serengeti de-snaring program is a unique partnership between Serengeti Park management, FZS, and tour operators – the SENAPA INVESTORS – working in the area. The de-snaring program is fully managed by the Serengeti park management, with a ranger in charge of each team, which also has at least four ex-poachers that move through the park, removing snares and freeing trapped animals. Since the project began in 2017 thousands of snares have been collected and hundreds of live animals were released and freed from the snares.

Financial support from tour operators, who rely on the region’s wildlife and an intact ecosystem as the basis for tourism in the area, was sought in 2017 and through this initiative, FZS has demonstrated the way in which collaborative effort can help protect Tanzania’s wildlife heritage, thereby benefiting all stakeholders in the ecosystem.

In close collaboration with TATO (Tanzania Association of Tour Operators), a Memorandum of Understanding has been established between FZS, TANAPA, and Serengeti National Park operators from the private sector, with the goal of initiating the de-snaring program. This collaborative effort involved setting up an initial de-snaring team in 2017, with two more added since.

Voluntary donations from the private sector, NGOs such as the Lion Recovery Fund, and individual donors provide the core funding for this program while FZS provides all logistical support to the field teams in the form of equipment, provisioning, transfer of teams, vehicle maintenance, etc. The goal is to add more teams in the future, subject to financial support and need in the park.

In order to continue doing this important work, we need your help.