DSWF - Painted Dog Conservation project

Welcome to the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation

		PROJECT: PAINTED DOG CONSERVATION PROJECT

		Location: ZIMBABWE in and around HWANGE NATIONAL PARK
		DSWF Support: Since 1995
		Funding to date: £189,000

		Project Summary: Conservation of the highly endangered African Painted Dog and local education project.

Project update - September 2005

Painted Dog Conservation is gaining more and more recognition as a "Model for Conservation". Our multi faceted programme is being recognised internationally as we strive to tackle the multitude of problems threatening the future not only of our beloved painted dogs, but also their habitat and the other species they co -exist with.

Our Anti Poaching Units have received justified praise for their determined bravery, often tackling armed poachers as they endeavour to clear the bush of the deadly threat carried by the merciless snares. They again demonstrated their effectiveness this month with the arrest of 4 poachers and the recovery of over 60 snares in a "hot spot" area adjacent to the local township of Dete. This followed an exhausting, weeklong patrol along the south - eastern border of Hwange National Park, where poaching has reached epidemic proportions. Our resources are being stretched to breaking point by taking the responsibility to patrol these additional areas, however the need is urgent. Time is running out for wildlife, struggling as it is against a relentless onslaught. The horrific wounds caused by the snares and the devastation caused by a snared animal's agonising death throes are images one never forgets.

Backing up this direct action is our education programme, which aims to change the hearts and minds of children in the area. Since this programme began with the opening of our Children's Bush Camp in May 2004, over 1100 children have attended the camp, each enjoying a life changing experience. The follow up visits to the schools by our Education Officer, Wilton Nsimnago, confirm the enormously positive impact the programme is having on the lives of the children, who show a great retention of the concepts, such as extinction, learnt during their stay at the camp. They have all asked to return to the camp!

A further aspect of the Education Programme is the computer classes we are conducting at the Bush Camp on days and evenings in between the school visits. In September we were delighted to employ Martin Muserere as our computer teacher. Martin, currently working under the guidance of volunteer and programme designer Adam Chromicz, will take over sole responsibility for the programme in January next year. To date the computer programme has seen over 220 students complete in excess of 2200 hours teaching hours!!!!!

Our Iganyana Arts Centre continues to provide invaluable training and income generation for many men and women in the area. Demands for the products are growing with more and more international markets opening up. We are currently endeavouring to bring more and more women into the programme, recognising the key role they play in society by providing for their families.

Meanwhile, as if underlining the progress our commitment is making, the dogs are thriving, even re-populating the Gwayi, which has been devastated by poaching and mismanagement. Jealous has been following the various packs in the area on a day-by-day basis. In particular, our pack of eight adults and ten pups, that have developed out of the Sethule, are doing particularly well. The same can also be said for the dogs we released onto Starvation Island earlier in the year. I was able to visit them at the end of September, gaining further confirmation, as if it were needed, of just how well they are doing. The next big challenge for them will come in October, when we move them from the island onto the mainland. With their hunting skills honed and therefore the ability to provide for themselves in place, they will have to learn to cope with other predators such as lion and hyena, very quickly.

As we move towards the end of the year, a year that has brought both organisational and personal challenges our way, we remain as determined as ever to play our part in making a difference to the future of the painted dogs, in building the model for conservation.