Wayne Lotter
Born(1965-12-04)4 December 1965
Benoni, South Africa
Died16 August 2017(2017-08-16) (aged 51)
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
NationalitySouth African
OccupationConservationist
Years active1987–2017

Wayne Lotter (4 December 1965 – 16 August 2017) was a South African wildlife conservationist. Lotter was one of the co-founders of the PAMS Foundation, a not for profit conservation organisation based in Tanzania. Lotter also previously served as Vice President of the International Ranger Federation.[1]

Biography

Having obtained a master's degree in nature conservation in the 1990s, Lotter began working in the non-profit and government wildlife protection sectors. He worked initially as a ranger in South Africa. He was a co-founder of the PAMS Foundation which trained thousands of young Africans in conservation.[2] Lotter was involved in funding the National and Transnational Serious Crimes Investigation Unit in Tanzania which had successfully pursued a number of high-profile ivory traffickers.[3]

In a 2015 interview with Newsweek Lotter was described as "enthusiastic and charismatic".[4]

Lotter was asked to take part in the 2016 Netflix documentary The Ivory Game but requested that rangers employed by the foundation be featured instead.[5]

Death

Lotter, who had regularly received death threats, was shot dead on Wednesday, 16 August 2017, while travelling in a taxi in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.[6][7]

His death attracted international attention, with an obituary being published in The Times of London and The Economist.[8][9]

Jane Goodall, a British primatologist, ethologist, anthropologist, and UN Messenger of Peace paid tribute to Lotter, whom she described as a "hero of mine" and "courageous".[10] Tributes were also paid by other wildlife protection organisations.[11][12]

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge also condemned the "violent and apparently targeted murder" of Lotter and expressed his "deepest condolences to Wayne's family and all those at PAMS Foundation for this senseless loss."[13]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "New thinking needed in the war on ivory poachers". ITV News. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  2. ↑ "Wayne Lotter: Rights body calls for justice". www.ippmedia.com. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  3. ↑ "Renowned anti-poaching leader slain by gunmen in Tanzania". Washington Post. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  4. ↑ "The Global Fight for Tanzania's Elephants". Newsweek. 22 October 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  5. ↑ "Ex-KNP game ranger tackling poaching the unconventional way | Lowvelder". Lowvelder. 10 March 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  6. ↑ "SA conservationist killed in Tanzania after almost a decade of death threats". News24. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  7. ↑ "Anti-poaching activist Wayne Lotter shot dead in Tanzania". ITV News. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  8. ↑ "Wayne Lotter". Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  9. ↑ "Obituary: Wayne Lotter was killed on August 16th". The Economist. 31 August 2017.
  10. ↑ "Wayne Lotter: Remembering a Wildlife Hero & Friend". Jane Goodall's Good for All News. 18 August 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  11. ↑ Hauser, Christine (18 August 2017). "Crusader Who Saved Elephants From Poachers Is Shot Dead in Tanzania". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  12. ↑ Downes, Azzedine. "Conservation loses one of its best". IFAW - International Fund for Animal Welfare. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  13. ↑ "Prince William condemns death of wildlife activist Wayne Lotter". ITV News. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
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