Zambia- Statutory law - Human wildlife conflict
Human wildlife conflicts
Zambia
Summary
The Zambia Wildlife Act provides for a right to self-defence against wildlife attacks, and where necessary, a person can kill a wild animal in defence of oneself or in defence of another person It stipulates specific instances where it is excusable to kill wildl animals in defence of property and prescribes the procedure to be followed.
The person who has killed an animal shall, within a period of 24 hours, submit a report on the event to the nearest authorized officer and shall, unless otherwise entitled to retain the animal under a licence or permit issued under this Wildlife Act, hand over to the authorized officer its carcass, trophy or meat as the authorized officer may direct.
A person who, in any circumstances, wounds a dangerous animal and fails without reasonable cause to use all reasonable effort to kill the animal at the earliest possible opportunity, shall, within 48 hours, report the circumstances of the wounding to the nearest authorized officer
The law does not provide for preliminary strategies to manage or prevent human-animal conflict, nor does it specifically provide for financial compensation of wildlife damage in human-animal conflict. When an animal that has caused damage to property is killed in line with the provisions of the law, its carcass or trophy can be given to the victim as compensation for the damage suffered.
Failure to report the killing or wounding of an animal in self-defence, in defence of others, or in defence of property within the stipulated time is an offence, and the offender is liable to a fine or to imprisonment, or both
The Zambia Wildlife Act does not explicitly define “human-wildlife conflict”(HWC); however its management can be considered part of the functions of the DNPW. An important role is played by the authorized officer, i.e.” a wildlife police officer, a police officer of the rank of inspector or above, a community scout or an honorary wildlife police officer”, to whom reports of the killings for self-defence or in defence of property shall be submitted. If elephants and rhinoceros are wounded, an additional report shall also be submitted to the Wildlife Management Licensing Committee within 48 hours
A wildlife officer and wildlife police officer shall exercise such functions and perform such duties as are conferred by the Wildlife Act or as may be delegated or assigned to them by the Director. An authorized officer may arrest a person, without warrant, where he or she has reasonable grounds to believe that he or she has committed an offence or is about to commit an offence, and there is no other way to prevent the commission of the offence, or is willfully obstructing the authorized officer in the execution of the officer’s duties. An authorized officer who makes an arrest shall, without undue delay, have the arrested person brought to a police station.
The Director of Public Prosecutions may, at the request of the Director, in writing, appoint by name or rank a wildlife officer to undertake the prosecution of any offence alleged to have been committed under the Act. A wildlife officer shall, in undertaking prosecution, act in accordance with the general or special instructions of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The law does not provide for specific functional coordination to manage, prevent or control HWC other than what is permissible within the broader discretion of the Minister. Major operational coordination and cooperation are mainly between wildlife police, guards or scouts, authorized officers and the Zambia Police.
HUMAN-WILDLIFE CONFLICTS
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
The Zambia Wildlife Act provides for the right to kill a wild animal in defence of oneself or of another person; however, no specific definition is provided of the circumstances that can be considered “self-defence” since the law only refers to a general “if it is necessary”. The law also regulates the killing of wild animals causing or having caused material damage to land, buildings, crops or livestock, by stipulating the specific circumstances when the killing of wildlife in defence of property is allowed, and by prescribing the procedure to be followed by a person who has killed an animal in defence of property. The right to kill in defence of property does not authorize a person to use prohibited hunting methods.
When person who has killed an animal has done so to defend a person or property, he or she shall report, within 24 hours, on this event and hand over the carcass, trophy or meat of the animal to the nearest authorized officer, unless otherwise entitled to retain the animal under a “licence or permit issued under this Act”. There is no publicly known system of collecting data on such killings other than through submission of the above-mentioned incident reports.
The law does not provide for preliminary strategies to manage or prevent human-animal conflict, nor does it specifically provide for financial compensation of wildlife damage in human-wildlife conflict (HWC). Where an animal has caused damage to property, its carcass or trophy may be granted to the victim as compensation for the damage suffered. This compensation does not take into account the amount of damage the victim has suffered, and it is granted not according to the assessment of the damage or injury but at the discretion of the officer involved.
The law also regulates the wounding of dangerous animals, including elephants, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, buffalos, lions, leopards and crocodiles, as well as other animals that “pose a threat to property or human life”. The law does not clarify the kind of threat. A person who, in any circumstances, fails to kill or recover the dangerous animal within 24 hours after its wounding shall, within 48 hours of the wounding of the animal, report the circumstances of the wounding to the nearest authorized officer.
The report must contain information on: the species of dangerous animal wounded; the date, time and place of the wounding; the type of wound, if known; the weapon by which the wound was inflicted; the efforts made to kill the animal after it was wounded; the time and place where the animal was lost or escaped; and any other information that might be of use in locating or identifying the animal. If the dangerous animal wounded but not killed is an elephant or rhinoceros, the report shall be submitted also to the Wildlife Management Licensing Committee.
Where a dangerous animal has been wounded by the holder of a hunting licence or permit, the absolute ownership of the animal shall not be deemed to pass to the licensee or permit holder; however, if the animal is found dead and the Committee determines that it is the one that was wounded but not killed, a trophy of the animal can be delivered to the person provided that he/she submitted the requisite report, and after wounding the animal, used every possible endeavour to kill it. A person who, in any circumstances, wounds a game or protected animal, and fails, without reasonable cause, to use all reasonable effort to kill it at the earliest possible opportunity commits an offence; however that a person shall not follow a wounded game or protected animal into a National Park, Community Partnership Park or GMA in which the hunting of the animal is prohibited, or onto any land held by a person under a leasehold title.
Failure to report the killing or wounding of an animal in self-defence, in defence of others, or in defence of property within the stipulated time is an offence, and the offender is liable, to a fine, imprisonment, or both.
INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK RELEVANT TO HUMAN-WILDLIFE CONFLICTS
INSTITUTIONAL SET-UP
Although the term ‘human-wildlife conflict’ is not expressly defined in the legal framework, it can be assumed that its management is part of the non-specified functions of the DNPW. In HWC management, an important role is played by the authorized officers, who can be a wildlife police officer, a police officer of the rank of inspector or above, a community scout or an honorary wildlife police officer, to whom report the killings for self-defence or property defence , and by the Wildlife Management Licensing Committee to which the report shall be submitted within 48 hours of the wounding of the elephant or rhinoceros.
An authorized officer may arrest a person, without warrant, where he or she has reasonable grounds to believe that he or she has committed an offence or is about to commit an offence, and there is no other way to prevent the commission of the offence, or is willfully obstructing the authorized officer in the execution of the officer’s duties. An authorized officer who makes an arrest shall, without undue delay, have the person arrested brought to a police station.
INSTITUTIONAL COOPERATION AND COORDINATION
Coordination between wildlife officers, police or scouts, and an officer of the Zambia Police Service is provided for in section 112 (3) of the Wildlife Act, which states that an authorized officer may, in the performance of any functions under this section, be accompanied and assisted by a police officer.
It is a requirement for the authority responsible for wildlife to coordinate with the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) under the Environmental Management Act, 2011. As regards interministerial and inter-departmental coordination, the Ministers responsible for the respective sectors have discretion to determine coordination and cooperation among departments and law enforcement agencies. Where property is destroyed or life lost, it is mandatory to coordinate with any nearest authorized officer, including the Zambia Police.
DELEGATION OF POWERS
The authorities in the Ministry responsible for wildlife have the power and duty to delegate their powers and functions to authorized officers below them to the local level, but not to other actors and stakeholders without the jurisdiction of the Ministry or the DNPW.
The Director of Public Prosecutions may, at the request of the Director, in writing, appoint by name or rank a wildlife officer to undertake the prosecution of any offence alleged to have been committed under the Wildlife Act; in undertaking prosecution, the wildlife officer shall act in accordance with the general or special instructions of the Director of Public Prosecutions.