As a conservation organisation conducting most of its work in the field, it is essential that we are equipped with the necessary tools and knowledge to care for ourselves and the environment. A notable increase in wildlife poisoning has been observed over recent years with many animals across Southern Africa dying due to poisoning by poachers and famers. With this in mind, and at the invitation from Raptors Botswana, CCB officers - Christopher Mbisana and King Modise - attended a wildlife poisoning training on the 23rd – 25th of April at Mokolodi Nature Reserve. The three primary objectives of the training were to enable participants to: identify a wildlife poisoning scene, investigate a wildlife poisoning scene, and draft a poison response plan for each region of the country. Training facilitator, Andre Botha, of the Endangered Wildlife Trust ensured that the objectives of the week were met through his detailed presentations and demonstrations. The participants were predominantly officers from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, together with officers from NGOs such as CCB, Mokolodi Nature Reserve, Raptors Botswana, Kalahari Research & Conservation, and Birdlife Botswana. The establishment of a WhatsApp group for the participants now provides an additional platform to share information on wildlife poisoning, and for them to continue to assist each other when available during poisoning incidents. CCB would like to express our most sincere gratitude to Raptors Botswana for inviting us to benefit from this training. We hope that this will enable us to deal with poisoning incidents in a more proactive manner, while confident that help is just a message away.
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