Bermagui vet Dr Carl von Schreiber and wife Motria are raising funds for critical wildlife protection work in Zambia.
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They have raised $1500 and would like to raise another $1500 before travelling to Zambia on June 1.
The money will buy veterinary supplies, gear for anti-poaching patrol units and support ongoing education in local villages.
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Multi-level approach to wildlife protection
Ms von Schreiber first visited Conservation South Luangwa in 2011.
"They started off as a very grassroots group with a handful of patrols with shabby clothing and footwear,' she said.
South Luangwa is an incredibly pristine ecosystem.
"It is one of those pockets in the world that feels like the Garden of Eden with the whole web of life," she said.
Parallel are villages with very poor standards of living so some poach animals for meat and to sell ivory.
Unlike the high-tech hunting equipment used elsewhere in Africa, Zambian poachers set wire snares that catch animals' legs and necks and elephants' trunks.
"It is a brutal way to suffer and die."
CSL's patrol units look for the snares, rescue animals and educate villagers about the importance of the ecosystem.
It's working.
"Some of their best rangers are former poachers.
"It is a really good example of a multi-level approach working," Ms von Schreiber said.
Intact wilderness
CSL is working to protect 1,400,000 hectares of largely intact wilderness in eastern Zambia that make up the South Luangwa National Park and surrounding Upper and Lower Lupande game management areas.
It is home to over 60 species of mammals and 450 species of birds.
It is known for high densities of lion, leopard and wild dog, and remains a Zambian stronghold for elephants.
Very poor
Ms von Schreiber said the life expectancy in Zambia is 37 with AIDS a big killer.
It has a population of 12 million, with 1 million orphans and they live pretty traditionally.
"The biggest change is girls are asking for an education and people want to work in conservation so there is a whole economy sustained by visitors."
COVID ended that.
"The economy collapsed and people were starving so did people resume poaching and what are the new challenges," Ms von Schreiber said.
Donations needed
They will be taking supplies of syringes, surgical swabs and sterilisation packs.
"It is very low tech there and these items are hard to get."
Ms von Schreiber said the roads are so bad, flooded half the year, that the best way to get the supplies there is to take them there themselves.
You can make donations at the veterinary clinic in Wapengo Street or through CSL's website.
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