Wildlife protectors who attend our anti-poaching training sessions receive the same level of tracking training as elite special forces in the U.S. and U.K.
Who profits most from wildlife poaching?
Over
$10 billion per year is made from illegal wildlife trafficking. Criminal syndicates and terrorists-linked militias have realized huge amounts of money can be made from
illegal wildlife trafficking with little fear of reprisal.
According to one report, Al-Shabaab generated up to $600,000 per month from tusks. ISIS affiliate Boko Haram, known for kidnapping hundreds of schoolgirls last year, reportedly funds horrific crimes with trafficked ivory. Africa's
White Gold of Jihad: al-Shabaab and Conflict Ivory
Poachers kill the elephant and hack out the tusks, usually with an ax or chainsaw.
Who
developed your training program?
Rory Young, co-founder of Chengeta Wildlife, developed and administers
our anti-poaching training program. Born in Zambia, Rory has been tracking Africa’s wild ever since he was a little boy. He is a pro guide, ranger, anti-poaching trainer and strategist with amazing knowledge, skills and highly developed intuition. He has dedicated
his life to wildlife protection and co-authored, "A Field Manual For Anti-Poaching Activities," the field guide our training is based on.
Rory Young is a director for Tactical Tracking Operations School, Inc (TTOS). TTOS is the premier combat and tactical tracking organization worldwide and is licensed to train special operations forces. TTOS trains US Army Special
Forces Groups, US Marine Corps Recon, Homeland Security, British and Australian SAS and 15 U.S. federal agencies amongst many other elite and specialist organizations. Rory is the TTOS director for Africa and Europe.
TTOS provides it's time, knowledge and experience to Chengeta Wildlife free of charge. Our only cost is for the trainer in the field.
Can poachers be
stopped?
Our program works to effectively halt poaching. We have trained directors, instructors, investigators, unit leaders and rangers and have successfully taken down whole syndicates as part of the in-operations portion of our training.
We have worked with organizations such as United Nations OPS, the European Union and various National wildlife and forest departments, military special forces and law enforcement units.
Feedback from the field pours in constantly. Where occasional arrests or contacts were made in the past, the men we trained now regularly report whole syndicates, including foreign nationals, being arrested.
Our training does not require cash strapped countries to purchase expensive equipment or hire additional personnel. We train the dedicated people who are already working in anti-poaching to sharpen the most powerful weapon they have; their brain.
We
identify the most promising officers and give them additional instruction to become trainers. Dependence on our organization is not needed nor desired. We leave an area
confident the anti-poaching forces can continue training rangers and arresting poachers long after we have left.
During our in-operations training Malawi rangers arrested 81 poachers in just 12 days. Paul Chikumbutso is one of those successful rangers.
Paul
with his son, Arnold, and his wife, Gloria, who is wearing a Chengeta T-shirt.
We fight to stop the slaughter of wildlife and we fight to ensure that Arnold's dad comes home after each successful anti-poaching patrol.
Arnold wants to be an anti-poaching ranger like his dad.
Why is poaching suddenly
a big problem?
The
demand for illegal wildlife products has exploded in the last few years, mainly in Asian countries.
*** Newly wealthy display expensive animal products to flaunt their success.
*** Some believe animal parts have healing powers.
*** Others want to dine on exotic flesh.
In Vietnam, a rhino horn is a status symbol and some there think it can cure a hangover. A rhino horn is worth $65,000 per kilogram in Asia; more than silver, gold or cocaine.
What can your tax deductible donation buy?
$25 will buy printed field manuals for 10 rangers.
$45 supplies one compass for a ranger.
$100 equals rations for 10 men for one day, 3 meals and hygiene products.
$500 means advanced anti-poaching training, 30 day session for one ranger.
$1,500 enables one ranger to become a Chengeta Wildlife trainer.
$10,000 will earn you our never-ending love and training for many rangers.
Donations are tax deductible under US law.
Why donate to a small non-profit like
Chengeta Wildlife?
We are the honey badger of non-profits. We are small, intelligent, focused and incredibly tough. We have developed an anti-poaching program that is extremely effective and we focus on that program only. We take action and get the job done. (We like to think
we smell better than honey badgers though.)
Our management team is all-volunteer, and all overhead costs have been underwritten by our board members which means your donation can be used to train rangers and not to pay for office supplies or telephone bills.
Join our
Facebook group and watch our website,
chengetawildlife.org and you will see, from the reports and photos from the bush, exactly how you are impacting the fight against poaching.
What
do organizations that have received our training say?
Chizamsoka Mandara, Malawi - As Deputy Director for Conservation Services within the Malawi Department of National Parks and Wildlife, I have witnessed first-hand the incredible commitment to tackling poaching shown by Young. His presence
has brought with it new hope for the future of elephants in Malawi and a realistic chance of drastically reducing poaching that simply didn’t exist previously. Young is a ‘doer’ and that is what is needed here. The time for talking about how to tackle poaching
is over; it is time for decisive action. Young is the ideal person to take this forward and we are all behind his efforts.
Young lives for conservation. He is a brave man with a family that offers their unwavering support; allowing him to focus 100% on the work in hand. He has the support of myself and my colleagues at DNPW, but even more importantly, Young has the respect and
the trust of the rangers he works with. They recognise how much he has to teach them and that he would never counsel doing anything he wouldn't do - or likely hasn't already done - himself. This makes him ideally-placed to bring about positive and long-lasting
changes.
Adama DAOU, UNOPS - At the United Nations Office for Project Services in Guinea, we are proud to have partnered with Young to implement a pilot program aimed at establishing effective wildlife protection initiatives and Rangers Training.
I am confident that, in Young, we are working with the very best person to ensure this undertaking is a success. His quiet determination is an inspiration. He has created a confidence in the rangers that they can track, approach and apprehend poachers, knowing
they have been trained in the most effective techniques for the job.
Why
do people support Chengeta Wildlife?
Robin
Johnson with United Nations OPS - I
think I know a good cause when I see one, and Chengeta's is up there with the very best. This training already has the makings of a real game changer in Guinea. Anything else that can be done in this direction deserves support.
Grant
Lightfoot, Director of operations at TTOS, inc. Rory Young has embarked
on an honorable path and clearly has the knowledge, skills and ability to train Anti-Poaching Units.
Domhnall
O'huigin, Ireland - Everyone acknowledges that slaughtering animals
for something as trivial and stupid as their teeth is evil, wicked and senseless. We have a responsibility to our children, that they inherit a world at least as rich as the one we did.
Alon
Amit, USA - Most of us see intrinsic value in the preservation
of nature and wildlife. We shudder at the thought of a world without elephants, one of the most majestic of mammals, a symbol of nature and wilderness, a creature of beauty and elegance and strength. Losing them is unimaginable.
They are being hunted for something that has zero human value, not a shred of a moral justification. They are being hunted by militias and armies that are a threat to the very future of mankind. It's a rare case of pure evil. If we lose that war we will have
nothing to answer to our children and to ourselves. It's not just a case of preservation of a species, it's a fight for human values and our future.
Christine
Leigh Langtree, Australia -
Anyone
reading this can contribute to stopping this environmental disaster with barely any effort of their own. There are people in the world who are prepared to do the dangerous physical work for those of us who can't. All they need is just a few bucks from each
of the rest of us.
Where
can we read more about your program?
Our website is ChengetaWildlife.org.
Rory Young and the work we do has appeared in the following media outlets:
Saving The Wild, The Man Behind 81 Poaching
Arrests in 12 Days
National
Geographic, Drones Can Curb Poaching, But They Are Costlier Than the Alternatives.
Yahoo!News, Training an Army to Save the African Elephant from Deadly Poachers
Upworthy, Who Wants to Learn Some Eye-opening and Disturbing Things About Elephants?
Huffington Post, How Can Poaching be Brought Under Control?
Huffington Post, Why African Elephants May be Extinct by 2020
Newsweek, What Does it Feel Like to Find a Dead Rhino That has Been Poached?
Blog Talk Radio, Anti-Poaching Tracking - Rory Young
If
you are not able to donate, you can help by sharing our campaign with your friends.
