WORLD WORLDWIDE AFRICA ZIMBABWE - ANIMALS - ANIMAL SURVIVAL INTERNATIONAL - Poachers pounce on drought-stricken animals in the worst drought in 40 years.

 

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Zimbabwe is experiencing its worst drought in decades, and wild animals are paying the ultimate price. We must protect them immediately. Please help by making a donation now! Share Tweet Forward Share Dear friends, Along the banks of the drying-up Zambezi River, wild animals are being slaughtered as they drink what little life-saving water they can. While they battle devastating drought, cunning poachers are taking advantage of their weakness, and majestic elephants, giraffes, leopards, lions, sable antelope and many others are easy targets. Zimbabwe is suffering its worst drought in 40 years. The diminishing Zambezi River forms a natural boundary between Zambia and Zimbabwe. But with the river running low, heartless criminals simply hop across the Zambezi and “help themselves” to the wildlife as they drink from the river – one of the only water sources available to them.   It is devastating and infuriating – but we have a solution to protect the animals, and today, we need your help to implement it. Zimbabwe’s worst drought in 40 years is making wild animals easy targets for poachers.  Help us create safer drinking areas for them, FAST. Please help by making a donation now! Countless precious wild animals have fallen victim to poaching along the drying-up Zambezi River.  Recently, Animal Survival International conducted an extensive site survey within the Zambezi National Park. In the area of the park bordering the Zambezi River, much of the water has dried up due to intense drought. It is one of the worst in recent history, fueled by climate change and the effects of the El Niño weather pattern.   Currently, the Zambezi River is one of the only viable drinking spots for thousands of wild animals – but, because water levels are so low, it is easy for poachers to target animals as they huddle under the scorching African sun for a drop to drink.   Worse still, if the animals wander outside the protection of the park in search of water or food, opportunistic hunters await, killing these desperate, unsuspecting animals. They are truly being hunted from all sides, and unless we protect them, countless more will die. We MUST get animals away from these dangerous areas and we MUST do it FAST. Poachers easily cross the now-shallow river to poach animals desperate for a drink of water. Working with a wildlife partner in Victoria Falls, we have identified a safe area to provide water for desperate animals.   We need to drill boreholes and equip them with solar-powered water pumps.  This will provide reliable water sources a safe distance from the Zambezi River, protecting animals from poachers who breach the park from the river, and hunters who lie in wait on the other side. To ensure sufficient water for the thousands of wild animals in the area, we need to set up three solar-powered boreholes. These waterholes will provide water for at least 2,000 animals per day. With the border impossible to secure, solar-powered boreholes are vital to protect the animals. Please help by making a donation now! For the animals being picked off on the banks of the Zambezi, boreholes will ensure they do not have to risk their lives just for a drop to drink. With your help, we will drill life-saving boreholes for the animals, just as you have helped us to do in Botswana (pictured). Credit : Camelthorn Farmstead Please help us raise $30,000 (around £23,400) to install three boreholes and solar-powered pumps, and create safe, abundant drinking areas for wild animals – BEFORE poachers wipe them out. ASI has implemented many successful water initiatives in Zimbabwe, South Africa and Botswana, thanks to our supporters’ generous help. These projects have helped save thousands of animals’ lives, and today, we need your help to save even more. Donors who fund an entire borehole system will be entitled to borehole naming rights and a plaque in their honor, or in the name of someone of their choosing. It costs $10,000 (£7,800) to dig each borehole and furnish it with a solar-powered pump – if you would like to sponsor a complete borehole system, please reply to this email today.   Please, donate as much as you possibly can now, and help us protect the precious, vulnerable and endangered wildlife of Zimbabwe.  Watch the video Saving animals and the planet, Campaign Director Animal Survival International P.S. This is YOUR opportunity to leave a lasting legacy for the precious wild animals of the Zambezi National Park. Borehole naming rights, including a permanent plaque, will be awarded to donors who fund an entire borehole.  P.P.S. Even if you can’t sponsor a full system, please donate whatever you can – or, better yet, join forces with friends, family and colleagues to collectively fund a complete solar-powered borehole, bringing life-saving water to 2,000 animals every day!  Please help by making a donation now!

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