Dogs of Death: Hunting Dog Poaching Crisis in KwaZulu-Natal
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Poaching with dogs is often justified as a local tradition, a claimed right to hunt. But hunting and poaching are definitively not the same thing. Lines are brutalised, and dog hunts are increasingly tied to high-stakes betting. Across the province, game farmers and public space defenders are fighting a dog war.
"The victim's death is brutal and slow."
Organised Dog Hunting Syndicates and Escalation Since 2010
We were recently shocked to see a pack of ten mange infested, thin hunting dogs, with two hunters brazenly moving into the bush about two kilometres from the main gate entrance to Hluhluwe-iMfolozi. They were armed with machetes and knopkieries.
If we follow the paper trail back to 2010, game farmers and protected spaces in many areas began experiencing increased incursions and significant game losses. Despite multiple cases being laid by farmers and local media reporting, little has been achieved legally. Today, a highly organised industry, supported by backdoor breeders, is booming.
In many areas surrounding game farms and public wildlife areas, stray greyhounds are on the rise. On observation, these dogs look alot like abandoned poacher's dogs. When they are sick, weak or elderly, they are often chased away from their homes. In some tragic cases, they are left behind after illegal hunting activities. Many backyard packs are neglected and frequently carry rabies and worm infestations.
Dogs are kept in packs as small as five and up to twenty, and owners mark their packs with colourful identifying collars. Strategic competition hunts are advertised on social media platforms and WhatsApp groups. They are planned and target specific areas and farms; larger coordinated attacks often last three or four days.
Brutal Methods and On-the-Ground Impact
The poachers are brazen, sabotaging fences, even moving vehicles onto private property to harvest and remove the meat. Confronting these poachers and dogs is very dangerous, there can be several groups spread out at once, making it extremely chaotic.
The dogs are let loose, fired up by the owners, and sent out in a frenzied state. There is no particular target, everything in their path is fair game.
When the chosen animal is caught, the take-down is savage and cruel, snapping jaws fly at rumps and legs, tugging and tearing. The fallen animal is then rendered dead using a combination of machetes and knopkieries.
We were visiting a farm when poachers targeted the area from multiple sides. Professional hunters came to assist in flushing out the packs. The game farmer received a tip-off about the location of one group, and we joined them, intercepting some dogs and chasing them back. Seeing tracks, we followed them to a muddy waterhole. A kudu female had waded into the centre in a desperate attempt to escape the dogs. There was nothing we could do, she died of shock or heart failure. When the poachers cleared off, we found several dead animals across the terrain, including zebra and a giraffe.
Animal Welfare, Public Health, and Governance Failure
The lives of these wild animals and these dogs reflect a severe breakdown in animal welfare and disease control, as well as ongoing economic burdens in the province. These dogs also present a serious public health risk, with rabies and other diseases spreading through unmanaged populations.
On the ground, rangers, farmers, private security, and volunteers deal with this daily. The “dogs of death” are entrenched. Without stronger prosecution of these syndicates, defending wildlife and property, along with public wildlife areas, is falling entirely on private networks and offering zero return on our taxes.
These farms and wildlife spaces form a vital part of KwaZulu-Natal’s wildlife heritage and tourism sector.
In the wake of these packs, the province's wildlife is being torn apart, the government and the law are failing to address it.
©️LionExpose
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