High Alarm in Central African Republic after government overthrow: elephant poaching is rising dramatically and elephant meat is now flooding food markets in villages near a famed wildlife reserve.
The infamous Sudanese poachers are now working in tandem with armed rebels from the group known as Seleka, which now has seized control of the federal government.
At least one notorious poacher has declared himself the local representative for Seleka.
Conservation organizations said it’s currently impossible to estimate how many animals may have been killed because there are currently no patrols going on in the forest to determine where the elephant carcasses may be. Poachers are making greater inroads because of the near-anarchic state that has emerged in many parts of the country since President Francois Bozize was forced from power. Bozize, who himself took control in 2003 after a rebellion, fled into exile as thousands of armed rebels descended upon the capital in late March.
Very bad news indeed for the elephants of C.A.R., already under tremendous pressure.
