South Africa has over 25% unemployment, so you can find a ranger and a poacher living on the same township street.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf my brother finds me poaching, what is he supposed to do?\u201d asks a lifetime poacher in this week\u2019s episode of\u00a0Wildlife Warzone,\u00a0<\/i>which premieres on Al Jazeera English on Monday, 4 November at 22:30GMT. \u201cHe too must look after his family. He can\u2019t do me a favour. Because we\u2019re both there for the same reason: to make life better for our families.\u201d
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Poaching is\u00a0worth $17 billion a year and is being fueled by demand in Asia, where rhino horn in\u00a0particular is believed to have, unproven, medicinal properties, including the\u00a0ability to cure cancer. Poaching is big\u00a0business in South Africa – rhino horn is now worth more than gold.<\/p>\n
But while international syndicates may be making fortunes off poaching, for some South Africans it\u2019s about putting meat on the table for their families. \u201cWe cannot hunt, so we\u2019re supposed to go to the butcher,\u201d says the poacher, who lives in Toomalasha township in Limpopo. \u201cBut the meat there costs too much.\u201d<\/p>\n
Having graduated in last week\u2019s episode, five of the six new anti-poaching rangers are already at work in the wild, while Lunga has an interview at Shamwari Game Reserve, named the World’s Leading Conservation Company and Leading Safari Lodge at the 2012 World Travel Awards.<\/p>\n
In this week\u2019s episode, Lionel goes on his first patrol, where he learns that it\u2019s not just rhinos being poached: big cats are at risk too. Freddie sees his first cheetah and Chrisjan shoots a hunting dog, while the two find a poacher\u2019s camp, explore the drains that provide access to the game reserve, and pull over a suspicious car.
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\u201cIt\u2019s not easy to get in,\u201d says the poacher. \u201cThere are so many fences around the land; there are anti-poaching patrols and the fences are electric\u2026 If a patrol finds you, they\u2019ll arrest you. If they don\u2019t find you, it\u2019s a lucky day.\u201d<\/p>\n
The penultimate episode in the six-part series screens from Monday, 4 November at\u00a022:30GMT, with additional screenings on Tuesdays at 9:30GMT, Wednesdays at 03:30GMT, and Thursdays at 16:30GMT.<\/p>\n
Watch the full first episode:<\/p>\n
http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=o0900-vnVFU<\/a><\/p>\n The full second episode:<\/p>\n http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ZH02iQfyBAs<\/a><\/p>\n The full third episode: The full fourth episode:<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=e7sDgwC30y0<\/a><\/p>\n