Green - Anti-Poaching Activist Killed In Tanzania

A tireless defender of Africa's elephants who helped secure the arrests of thousands of poachers and traffickers over the years has been murdered.

Tanzanian police say 51-year-old Wayne Lotter was traveling by taxi in the Masaki district of the city of Dar es Salaam when another vehicle blocked his path.  Two men with guns exited the car, approached the taxi, and shot him. 

Lotter was the co-founder and a director of the PAMS Foundation which assists African governments and communities with anti-poaching efforts.  The group funded and supported Tanzania's elite anti-poaching National and Transnational Serious Crimes Investigation Unit (NTSCIU) which took down some of the biggest poaching and ivory smuggling operations.  Lotter and his partners routinely received death threats for their efforts.

The PAMS Foundation released a statement:  "Wayne devoted his life to Africa's wildlife, from working as a ranger in his native South Africa as a young man to leading the charge against poaching in Tanzania.

"Wayne believed communities were the best protectors of the continent's animals.  Through his work with PAMS he helped train thousands of village game scouts in every corner of the country.  His ground-breaking work in developing an intelligence-based approach to anti-poaching helped successfully reverse the rampant rates of poaching facing Tanzania.

"Wayne's charm, brilliance and eccentric sense of humour gave him the unique ability to make those around him constantly laugh and smile.  He died bravely fighting for the cause he was most passionate about.

"Wayne leaves behind his wife Inge, daughters Cara Jayne and Tamsin, and parents Vera and Charles Lotter.  We all grieve with his family, colleagues and friends.  His legacy will continue in our work."