Three notorious poachers who were illegally hunting in the Ayensu beat of the conservation area have been arrested by forest guards.
The three, were arrested by five Resource Guards of the Ankasa Forest Conservation Area stationed at the Dadwen Range Camp in the Ellembelle District.
The poachers were identified as Frank Odame, aged 36 from Assin Manso in the Central Region, Abraham Kwasi Sikapa, 45 from Yilo Krobo in the Eastern Region, and George Avi, 48 from Akatsi in the Volta Region.
All three were residents of Mumuni, within the Ellembelle District and reportedly engaged in cocoa farming.
Some items retrieved during the arrest included three unlicensed locally manufactured shotguns, 18 live cartridges, seven flashlights, and three cutlasses
Some wildlife species killed were a bay duiker, a maxwell’s duiker, and five giant rats.
Mr Bona Kyiire, the Park Manager of the Ankasa Conservation Area, in an interview, said the arrest was made during a routine surveillance operation, and underscored the management’s intensified efforts to curb poaching and other illegal activities within the area.
According to him: “Upon arrest, the suspects attempted to offer GH¢7,000 to the patrol team to evade prosecution, but the officers rejected the offer and proceeded with the formal report, demonstrating integrity and commitment to conservation enforcement.”
He said all the poachers and their confiscated items, including the GH¢7,000 amount offered had been handed over to the Elubo Police for further investigations and prosecution.
“The case will likely serve as a precedent for future enforcement actions under the Wildlife Resources Management Act (Act 1115),” he stated.
Mr Kyiire cautioned miscreants, poachers and all manner of persons not to indulge in such illegal activities to avoid sanctions.
He warned that staff of the park were ready to ensure that the integrity of the Ankasa Forest Conservation Area was secured and well protected; “This is because the Park is the only wet evergreen rain forest managed by the Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission.”
Mr Kyiire also appealed to all stakeholders to help in the conservation of this unique landscape to become a centre of excellence for the management of rain forests in the sub-region.
The Ankasa Forest Conservation Area, with a total estimated size of 509 square kilometres, is made up of the Nini Suhien National Park and the Ankasa Resource Reserve.
It is located in the wet evergreen tropical High Forest Zone of Western Ghana and considered the most biodiverse protected area in the country in an almost pristine state.
The park abounds in endemic and threatened flora and fauna such as forest elephant, bongo, and most of the primate species in Ghana.
The Park was the first to pilot the community resource management area concept in Ghana with the establishment of the Amokwaw CREMA, and has a high potential for tourism development to benefit its adjoining Municipal and District Assemblies and the nation at large.
Source: GNA