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A savage end for the elephants killed by men who were supposed to protect them: Slaughtered beasts' remains lie scattered after rangers poisoned them in pay dispute
Elephants lie slaughtered on the ground after reportedly being poisoned and mutilated by disgruntled rangers at Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe in a reported pay dispute
THE ANIMAL EQUIVALENT OF GENOCIDE - Although at present Hwange is well-stocked with elephants, across Africa the population is in steep decline, with 100,000 elephants killed in Africa from 2011 to 2013, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Today, there are fewer than 500,000 on the continent. Much of the ivory is used to manufacture trinkets for the Asian market, particularly in CHINA.
Lying slaughtered on the ground with their heads barbarically hacked off, these elephants are believed to have been killed by the very men who were meant to be protecting them.
They are among 62 elephants who have been killed in Zimbabwe in the last month alone, not by poachers, but poisoned by disgruntled rangers. Staff at Hwange National Park have reportedly not received their already low wages and it is feared that the elephant killings in the park may be a form of 'protest' against management.
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