Borjomi National Park Upgrades Protection and Arrests Professional Wildlife Poachers

Global Conservation has been upgrading Global Park Defense capabilities for Borjomi National Park in the Republic of Georgia, including equipping park staff with a new truck, radios, uniforms and surveillance gear for the newest park expansion.

Borjomi's rangers with equipment donated by Global Conservation.

This week Borjomi National Park’s newly-equipped rangers in the Abastumani District arrested five poachers who were hunting within the national park with dogs and expensive weapons. 

The poachers were captured on cellular trail camera, alerting Borjomi's rangers to the illegal activity.

The poachers were spotted by cellular trailcams in the early morning, and rangers captured them by mid-day. All hunting is illegal in the Republic of Georgia, but they also will face penalties for violations within a national park.

The arrests are especially important, as they occurred within a recently expanded area of the national park, Abastumani District, which received equipment and funding in 2021 to enable this type of rapid response protection.

Brown bears, extirpated from most of the European continent, are one of the species that Borjomi rangers are fighting to protect.

Equipment and training for Global Park Defense received from Global Conservation this year included:

• Cellular trail cameras (20)
• A new Toyota truck for rapid response patrolling
• SMART patrol systems  – computers and smartphones
• Park-wide communications - field and base radio systems for vehicle and foot patrols
• Uniforms and boots for 22 rangers

Borjomi park rangers with the newly donated truck and equipment.

The hunters had very expensive guns in their possession including Benelli and Greenfield weapons ($4-6,000 each). All hunters were aware they were inside the national park and, upon arrest, were brought to the Administration of the park for reporting. Guns were confiscated, and they were released for trial at a later date.

Multiple guns were confiscated from the poachers.

Poachers captured in the act on Borjomi's cellular trail camera network. These cameras immediately alert rangers to the poachers' presence.

Strong protection and an obvious patrolling presence, combined with rapid response to photos and videos from cellular trail cameras distributed throughout the park, have made hunting far more precarious than in the past. Global Park Defense applies great pressure on illegal activities.

The Republic of Georgia and the Agency for Protected Areas, Global Conservation’s partner, are taking nature protection seriously and increasing fines and penalties for hunting and illegal logging in their national parks towards the goal of achieving ‘No Cut, No Kill’.

We applaud these heros in conservation in Borjomi National Park as they stand up to well-armed hunters and dangerous situations including firefights, forest fires and difficult terrain and weather to protect Georgia’s oldest and largest national park.