Hunters often use gun traps fixed to stakes in the forest to kill animals.   These traps are notorious for maiming and inflicting great pain on the local wildlife.

During the day, hunters easily identify animal foraging trails and suitable places to place these traps.    The traps are then usually loaded and positioned at night as most of the animals are active after dusk.   They attach a gun trap with a trip-wire located transversely from the trail at one foot above ground level to fire at anything using the path.

The traps are made locally and are quite rudimentary,  consisting of short pipes with threads that fit a 32mm cartridge.   Normally at least a dozen of these loaded traps are placed along the forest tracks in the hope of killing an animal.   More often however, the animal’s leg is blown away and it dies in agony elsewhere.

REGUA has for a long time had a programme to acquire these traps from hunters no longer wishing to carry on the practice.

They are usually acquired at half the price they cost to make, and this takes them safely out of use.

Over the last three years, seventy of these traps have been acquired and they were recently handed over to the local Police force.   Our local Police, Captain Hermes and Sergeant Ricardo will arrange for these traps to be destroyed as they are still classified as firearms.

Nicholas Locke