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Public urged to help catch local cycad poacher(s)

 

No limit seems to exist for the lengths people will go to make some quick money, even if it is illegally. This was again evident in Louis Trichardt this week when the newspaper was informed that somebody was trying to steal the huge cycad in the park on the corner of Forestry and Louis Botha Street.

Lo and behold, this was indeed the case. When the Zoutpansberger visited the park on Monday morning, it was found that someone had already dug a deep trench around the cycad in an effort to remove it. “I first saw people digging around the cycad last Tuesday evening [6 March]. When I confronted them, they stopped and shortly afterwards a man arrived and told the ‘diggers’ to leave,” said a concerned resident, who wanted to remain anonymous.

Over the last couple of years, the country’s cycad population has fallen victim to frightening levels of poaching. Because of the seriousness of this situation, the Zoutpansberger contacted the local office of the Department of Environmental Affairs to find out if they were aware of the situation.

Mr Alan McMurtrie of the department’s Louis Trichardt office was quick to point out that he was aware of the incident. “I was made aware of the issue late Sunday evening, also by people who would want to remain anonymous. Basically, what they said was that they knew somebody had set their sights on this cycad and if they got more information they would forward it to me,” said McMurtrie.

The cycad in question was identified as a Modjadji cycad (Encephalartos transvenosus) which is endemic to the Soutpansberg and former Venda homeland. McMurtrie confirmed that, as with all South African cycads, the Modjadji cycad is a protected species under the National Environmental and Biodiversity Act of 2004 (Act 10 of 2004). “It falls within the category Protected Species, meaning indigenous species of high conservation value or national importance that require national protection,” said McMurtrie. He added that they viewed the matter in a very serious light and that his office had since handed the matter over to the department’s environmental compliance and enforcement office in Thohoyandou for further investigation and possible action.

McMurtrie explained that the handling of and trade in cycads in South Africa is highly regulated by law. “Any person who is in possession of a Encephalartos [indigenous cycad] species requires a permit. They are all protected under the Biodiversity Act. A permit is either to possess or convey a cycad,” said McMurtrie. He added, however, that some people got confused by the Australian and Revoluta [Sago] cycad, which does not require a permit as it is an exotic species. These cycads are easily distinguishable as it has much thinner leaves than the indigenous species. “If you are in doubt, you are more than welcome to contact me,” said McMurtrie.

Although the law cannot force people to register their cycads, McMurtrie said that the law did allow you to do that. He said registration became important if you wanted to relocate your cycad, for instance to another province. “You would need to proof legal acquisition. Proof of legal acquisition could be a receipt from a nursery where the cycad was purchased. Any person who does want to register and they can’t prove legal acquisition, meaning they can’t prove where they obtained the cycad, would need to complete an affidavit stating how the cycad was legally acquired,” said McMurtrie. He said the owner must then obtain an official application form from the department, which they could email the applicant, and from there the department would handle the registration process. This would include verifying the information supplied in the affidavit.

In this instance, the cycad in question does not belong to a private person but is located in a municipal park. Municipal spokesperson Mr Louis Bobodi said on Tuesday that they had only been made aware of the attempted theft of the cycad because of the newspaper’s enquiry. “We will report the matter to the SAPS,” said Bobodi. He added that they had already fallen prey to a similar theft when somebody had stolen their Modjadji cycad at the tourism information centre. Asked whether they had registered their cycads in public parks or had a register of their cycads, Bobodi said that they did not have such a register. He warned, however, that the municipality would definitely act against anyone caught stealing or trying to steal their cycads.

Persons wishing to supply information about the person(s) responsible for the theft of the town’s cycads can give the information through to Mr Thisikule at the department’s environmental compliance and enforcement office in Thohoyandou at Tel 082 904 5863 or landline 015 962 4723. “It is important that people in town be our informants. Don’t just sit on the fence … We can’t all just have that attitude not to care if we see something is wrong. Please send the information through,” said McMurtrie. He can be contacted at the Department of Environmental Affairs’ offices on the corner of Erasmus and Munnik Street (old Schoemansdal Museum premises). 

News - Date: 16 March 2018

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Somebody has systematically dug a trench around the huge Modjadji cycad in the municipal park on the corner of Forestry and Louis Botha Street since last week in a effort to steal it. The situation has since been reported to the local Department of Environmetal Affairs, who has handed the matter over to their environmental compliance and enforcement office in Thohoyandou for further investigation and possible action.

 

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Andries van Zyl

Andries joined the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror in April 1993 as a darkroom assistant. Within a couple of months he moved over to the production side of the newspaper and eventually doubled as a reporter. In 1995 he left the newspaper group and travelled overseas for a couple of months. In 1996, Andries rejoined the Zoutpansberger as a reporter. In August 2002, he was appointed as News Editor of the Zoutpansberger, a position he holds until today.

Email: [email protected]

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