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Restrict bush fires used in animal hunts

Nature volume 547, page 281 (2017)Cite this article

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Controlled small-scale fires are traditionally used in the African savannah to flush out small mammals for hunting. Poachers in Zimbabwe are carelessly deploying crude versions of this practice, causing unmanageable bush fires and large-scale destruction.

For generations, experienced local hunters have ensured that the impact of burning on the environment and nearby communities is minimal (see J. G. Pausas and J. E. Keeley BioScience 59, 593–601; 2009). According to locals, however, African hunting-party demographics have changed. Such parties now often comprise men who are younger and from outside the community. This may tie in with the emigration of older men from their villages, enticed away by illegal mining operations, for example.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa

    Mwazvita T. B. Dalu & Tatenda Dalu

  2. Monash University Malaysia, Bandar Sunway, Malaysia

    Ryan J. Wasserman

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  1. Mwazvita T. B. Dalu
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  2. Tatenda Dalu
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  3. Ryan J. Wasserman
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Correspondence to Mwazvita T. B. Dalu.

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Dalu, M., Dalu, T. & Wasserman, R. Restrict bush fires used in animal hunts. Nature 547, 281 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/547281c

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