Johnny Rodrigues - A short biography:

I was born in Funchal, Madeira on 27th March 1949 and moved to Zimbabwe with my family in 1955 where I have lived ever since, apart from a period of 6 years when I lived in South Africa.

I grew up on a farm in Zimbabwe. My playmates were the children of the African farm workers and through my interaction with them, I learnt to speak several African languages fluently. This has been of enormous benefit to me throughout my life in Zimbabwe.

I left home at the age of 15, joined the Merchant Navy and worked on ships for the next 3 years. I then returned to Zimbabwe and joined the SAS (Special Air Services).

In 1974, I married Cheryl who is still with me today. By this time the bush war had started and I joined the army. After a couple of years as a soldier in the regular forces, I applied to join the Selous Scouts and was accepted thanks to my ability to speak African languages.

In 1980, Robert Mugabe became president. He ordered the Selous Scouts to be disbanded and all its members to leave the country. By this time, Cheryl and I had 2 small daughters so in the interests of their safety, we complied with his instructions. The South African Special Forces were very keen for the ex-Selous Scouts to join them so we spent the next 6 years in Phalaborwa, South Africa, fighting in the South African bush war. My son was born there in 1983.

In 1986, we returned to Zimbabwe and started a vehicle repair business. This didn’t make us rich but we were able to live fairly comfortably and educate our children. By 1992, the country’s economy had started floundering and we began to have financial difficulties so we decided to diversify. We bought a 30 ton truck and started an international transport company. I drove the truck myself for the next 3 years, hauling goods all over Southern Africa and saw very little of my family. We were then able to buy 2 more trucks but the constant driving had affected my health so I employed drivers and concentrated on maintaining the trucks.

In 2000, the land reform programme started and along with it, the indiscriminate slaughter of the wildlife. I was so desperate to try and do something about this that I neglected the transport company and that fact, combined with the hijacking of one of our trucks and the total loss of another through an accident, resulted in the collapse of the company.

How did you become involved in the fight to conserve Zimbabwe’s wildlife?

When the land reform programme started in 2000, there was a breakdown of law and order and where previously, poachers had been shot on sight or imprisoned, that was no longer the case. In order to gain votes, the government encouraged the people to use the natural resources in any way they chose in order to survive. This lead to extensive deforestation, destruction of river beds during gold panning, the destruction of fish breeding areas and the decimation of the wildlife. Being a keen angler and having achieved national colours in the sport, I was initially particularly concerned about the destruction of the fish in Kariba. I was a committee member of the Kariba International Tiger Fishing Tournament and every time the committee met, the main concern of all the members was the intensifying fish poaching in Kariba. It was feared that if something wasn’t done about it, the world renowned annual Tiger Fishing Competition would soon become a thing of the past because you can’t have a fishing competition with no fish. I decided to do something about it because sitting week after week listening to everyone complaining was not solving the problem. It was a well known fact that National Parks were almost bankrupt so they were unable to carry out anti poaching patrols even if they wanted to. I approached the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Francis Nhema and told him that there was a group of us who wanted to start an anti poaching task force. I offered to raise funds and go to Kariba with volunteers to assist National Parks with anti poaching patrols on a regular basis. He was very pleased with the idea and instructed National Parks to co-operate with us. He asked us to keep him informed of our progress and to give him written reports on our activities so the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force was inaugurated in April 2001. All went well for the first year. We did several anti poaching patrols in Kariba and made life very difficult for the poachers. We pulled thousands of metres of illegal netting out of the water and destroyed it, sunk many poachers’ boats, burned down their base camps, recovered tons of fish, releasing the live ones and donating the dead ones to National Parks. At the same time, volunteers from the 4 x 4 club scoured the bush and removed hundreds of wire snares. There was a notable decline in the fish poaching. We raised funds and donated fuel and oils to National Parks so that they could continue with the patrols in our absence. We also repaired their boats which had previously been out of order. As time went on, we discovered that the main poaching rings were actually controlled by top government officials, police, army and National Parks staff themselves. We reported this to Minister Nhema and he reacted by refusing to have anything further to do with us. We tried to continue with the patrols but the National Parks scouts who had previously co-operated with us were now showing open hostility towards us. My volunteers got cold feet and one by one, started drifting away leaving me to continue practically alone. I was seriously considering throwing in the towel in March 2002 when I received a tearful phone call from Charlie Hewatt, the ‘Rhino Girl’. She told me that ‘war veterans’ had invaded Gourlays Ranch, a black rhino conservancy and breeding programme. The owner, Richard Pascall had been given 24 hours to vacate his property. Charlie begged me, being the Chairman of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, to please try and do something. The few members I had left were nowhere to be found so I went alone to Gourlays Ranch and was confronted with about 200 rabid, drug-crazed ‘war veterans’. This title was a misnomer because most of them were in their early twenties and would have been very small children during the bush war. I was obviously no match for them and I had no choice but to spend the night at the ranch as they wouldn’t allow me to leave. The following morning was the deadline for Richard Pascall to vacate the property and the invaders tried to behead him with an axe so the farm manager fired a shot into the air to disperse the mob. The police arrived and arrested Richard, the farm manager and a neighbour who was there for moral support. They were charged with attempted murder for firing the shot into the air and sent to prison. The war vets got off scot free and took possession of the black rhino conservancy. I was so angry about the injustice of all this, not to mention the inevitable fate of the rhino, that I decided to do everything in my power to preserve what was left of the wildlife.

How have President Mugabe's Land Reforms affected wildlife, both endangered and non endangered species in the country?

At the beginning of the land reform, Mugabe promised that he would only be taking the agricultural farms and that the game ranches and conservancies would be left alone. However, this promise was broken. Prior to 2000, there were approximately 240 ranches with wildlife, 84 of which were registered as official areas designated by National Parks for wildlife. Today there are only about 15 remaining in total. The land reform has had a catastrophic effect on both endangered and non-endangered species. Poachers and land invaders don’t discriminate between endangered and non-endangered species. Any animal is in danger of walking into their wire snares. With regard to black rhino, an endangered species, there were 40 in Matusadonna before 2000 and now there are only 8 left. In the Midlands conservancy, there were 50 and now there are 21. In Gourlays Ranch, 26 of the original 48 were relocated to a safer area and the rest have been slaughtered. We estimate, from reports and statistics received, that we have lost between 90 and 100% of the wildlife on private game ranches, 60 to 70% on the larger conservancies and about 40% in the National Parks game reserves.

There has been a huge rise in the level of poverty in rural Zimbabwe - how can you hope to control the levels of poaching when families are starving and survive on bush meat?

I believe that if the rural folk were given title deeds to the land surrounding and adjacent to wildlife areas, they could become stake-holders in the tourism industry. They could be entrusted to look after the wildlife and carry out their own anti-poaching patrols and then receive a share of the revenue generated by tourism. It would then be more profitable for them to preserve the wildlife than to kill it.

How can locals be educated which wildlife is endangered which is not when it seems from various reports that poaching is indiscriminate and senseless?

Environmental education needs to be aimed at school children so that they grow up with the idea of preserving wildlife and sustaining the natural resources. Prior to 1980 when Mugabe became the president, Environmental Studies was part of every school curriculum but thereafter, this subject was dropped, especially in the rural schools and replaced with political studies. The children who never learnt about the environment are now the adults who are destroying it so it is very important that Environmental Studies are re-introduced as soon as possible.

What is the major cause for concern, immediately and in the future with regard to both habitat and animal specie conservation?

The major cause for concern with regard to the habitat is extensive deforestation. Locals chop trees down for fire wood and to clear areas to plant crops. It used to be illegal to chop trees down but they have now been told that they are free to use the natural resources as they wish. This destruction of vegetation results in loss of habitat for the wildlife, forcing it to move into more confined spaces. With regard to animal species, the major cause for concern is the indiscriminate poaching and illegal hunting.

You are Chairman of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, (an N.G.O): what are its aims?

This is our Mission Statement: ‘To work together with all sectors of society to promote and ensure the sustainability of our fish and wildlife resources for current and future generations’.

Is the ZCTF independent of the government, and if so – how is it viewed by those in power?

Yes, we are independent of the government and those in power look upon us as an enemy. They feel that our aim is to cause trouble and destroy the tourism industry.

You have international support, as I understand through the recently formed The Friends of Hwange Conservation Society, yet the Government has recently declined financial assistance from your part to help - please explain this situation.

Firstly, there is no such organization as the Friends of Hwange Conservation Society. This was erroneously printed in an article and the error has caused a lot of trouble. The organization that has assisted us with donated goods for Hwange National Park is the Hwange Conservation Society (UK). Another error in the article is that it is the National Parks Authority who has declined further assistance from us, and not directly the government. National Parks are quite happy to accept assistance from the Hwange Conservation Society, as long as the assistance is not channelled through the ZCTF. The reason for this is that from 2002, since the Gourlays Ranch episode, I have been exposing corrupt practices with regard to the wildlife and environment. When I realized that I couldn’t report any poaching or illegal hunting to the relevant authorities, because very often, they were involved in it themselves, I felt I had no option but to inform the international community. I was unable to sit by and watch the destruction and allow them to get away with it. I told the world in the hope that concerned people around the world would put pressure on our government and embarrass them into rectifying the situation. This exposure has lead to some positive action being taken by the government in a number of cases. However, I believe my last report about the capture of juvenile elephants from Hwange National Park to be trained for elephant rides by Shearwater Adventures, with the permission of National Parks, was the final straw. The young elephants were not orphans. They were members of families from which they were forcibly removed. I circulated a report condemning both Shearwater and National Parks for the capture and I believe this is the reason National Parks wants nothing more to do with me. The reason they gave was the ‘continued negative and false reports emanating from my organization’.

Please explain the purpose of The Friends of Hwange Conservation Society, and how interested persons can become involved in it.

As I explained before, there is no such organization as Friends of Hwange Conservation Society.

Apart from Hwange, what are the other national parks in Zimbabwe and how do they cater for the safari going tourist?

There are about 22 national parks in Zimbabwe, most of which supply basic self catering cottages, nothing too fancy. Some of them provide game drives and walks. The main ones that come to mind that would cater for the safari going tourist are Gonarezhou, Victoria Falls, Matusadonna and Charara in Kariba, Chivero just outside Harare, Mana Pools on the Zambezi, and Matobo near Bulawayo.

What state would you say they are in?

I am not too sure what state they are in. I should think the cottages are habitable.

As I understand it, the situation is catch 22, without tourism there is not the money to invest in the parks, and yet with such degradation, how can tourists be attracted to the country?

Yes, it is a catch 22 situation. I think the thing that puts tourists off most of all is the lack of law and order here, not so much the state of the national parks areas. Also, some tourists come here and witness national parks staff shooting animals in the game reserves and this horrifies them. They go back home with all sorts of horror stories and this discourages people from coming here. I think the most important thing to do if we are going to encourage more tourists is to try and persuade national parks to stop doing things that upset the tourists and also to make a serious effort to contain the poaching problem . People get very upset seeing animals caught in snares etc.

What advice can you give anyone considering visiting Zimbabwe for a safari/wildlife holiday?

Firstly, make sure fuel is available if they are driving themselves. If they want to visit the national parks areas and use those facilities, that’s fine but if they are going to spend their holiday in a private safari camp, they need to make sure the safari operator they choose is not guilty of illegal hunting practices etc. They can get that information from me.

What are some of the worst cases you have seen with regard to wildlife and habitat destruction?

There are not really any specific ‘worse cases’. The destruction is widespread. You can see evidence of deforestation from the air very clearly. Prior to 2000, the vegetation looked quite dense from the air but now, there are enormous tracts of bare land everywhere. All the dry river beds where gold can be found are an absolute mess. Deep gaping holes are left and huge mounds of soil are piled up in the riverbeds. The worse cases of animal slaughter have been on the private game ranches. Many ranch owners have given me statistics of the number of animals they had in 2000 and how many are left now. Several of them have nothing left at all – 100% loss and others have lost about 90% of their game.

Regarding education, are locals willing to enter into dialogue with (and without wanting to make this a race issue) a white man who was not actually Zimbabwe born and bred?

I’m not sure what you mean by this. If you mean would the locals be willing to discuss ideas for educating the people with a white foreigner, it would depend on whether or not the locals in question support the ruling party or not. There are plenty of locals here who have the right idea about conservation and would be very happy to learn from anybody but if there was any question of them getting into trouble with the government, they would steer clear.

Having confiscated land and ranches/farms how do the new landowners treat their environment? Are they generally interested in preserving the wildlife stock and do they understand the value that tourism can bring?

Most of the new landowners know very little or nothing about wildlife management or sustainable development. The ones who acquired game ranches slaughtered everything that moved very quickly. They easily obtained unrealistic hunting quotas from National Parks and sold hunts which far exceeded their quotas, to foreign big game hunters. They gave no thought to the fact that once everything is gone, you can’t get it back. Most of them don’t understand the value of tourism, they are only concerned about what they are going to eat tonight. On Gourlays ranch, the invaders removed the metal rods from the boreholes and made them into assegais which they used to kill the animals. It did not seem to concern them that they were then unable to supply drinking water for the animals.

How can anyone reading this interview become involved in the fight to preserve Zimbabwe’s threatened wildlife?

If anyone wants to help, they can help to create an awareness of the situation here by spreading the word. We are always in need of funds so if anyone can help in this department, they can contact me by email at galorand@mweb.co.zw

With regard to the subject we have been discussing, what are your hopes for the future?

My hopes for the future are firstly that we have a return of law and order because without that, it is very difficult to control poaching and illegal hunting. I would like to see Environment Studies being taught in the schools and I would like the rural people to be given title deeds for the land that they have been allocated. At the moment they can’t make any improvements on their land because without title deeds, they can’t get financial assistance from the banks. This is why they have to live on bush meat. They have a piece of land but they can’t do anything with it. They need to be stakeholders in the tourism industry so that they will be encouraged to preserve the wildlife rather than destroy it.

Can you forsee, under any circumstance the situation being resolved under governmental control alone or will it take major input from world bodies to save Zimbabwe's dwindling wildlife stocks?

No, not under the present government. I believe major input from world bodies would be required to rectify the situation.

On a personal level have there ever been times when through the work of the ZCTF you have been physically threatened or faced imminent danger?

Yes, many times. I was extremely lucky to escape with my life during the Gourlays Ranch episode which I described earlier. Once when I was driving to Hwange, a car with government number plates tried to run me off the road. I have had numerous death threats over the phone. I was informed by a very reliable source once that my name was on a ‘hit list’ so my wife and I had to wear bullet proof jackets for a while. I think the closest call I ever had was when the immigration department almost succeeded in deporting me.

Johnny Rodrigues is Chairman of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force whose website can be found here:

www.zctf.mweb.co.zw

He also runs Zimbabwe Art which raises money for wildlife conservation in Zimbabwe - the website can be found here:

www.zimbabwe-art.com