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Your Working Dog Radio hosts, Eric @vanessk9 & Ted @ted_summers, sit down with Director and Co-Founder of ATS, Anti-poaching Tracking Specialists, Bryce Clemence.
Bryce Clemence, was awarded 2021 Best Game Ranger in Africa, by the Game Rangers Association of Africa, for the Rhino Conservation Awards. These awards recognise excellence and unity in the field of wildlife management. Bryce and his father, Peter Clemence, founded ATS in 2009; later joined by Bryce’s brother, Shannon Clemence.
Shannon served as a tracking instructor at Scott Donelan Tracking School, which regularly trained American Special Military Units. Shannon returned to Zimbabwe and joined the family in 2015.
Peter is an ex-Selous Scout Chief Instructor, in the Rhodesian Army. The Selous Scouts were raised as a special forces regiment, and specialised in bush craft and counter insurgency, and intelligence based work. They were trained to hunt and forage for their own food and water supplies. Their survival skills allowed them to operate without external support which was critical to their operations. The Selous Scouts is still widely recognised today as one of the most elite counter insurgence units in history.
Bryce Clemence and his father have trained many of Zimbabwe’s best rangers in key Intensive Rhino Protection Zones across the country. Extensive training has been conducted for Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZPWMA) and Africa Parks. Additionally, ATS has trained hundreds of rangers, and prepared pass-outs for APU’s in South Africa, Zambia, Malawi, Rwanda, Chad and Congo.
Today, ATS is regarded as having created one of the best operating Malinois canine units in Southern Africa: An award winning rhino protection, anti-poaching and illegal wildlife anti-trafficking, wildlife conservation and security unit in Zimbabwe’s Savé Valley Conservancy. The dogs will regularly track up to 25kms, and on poacher detections will go further than this. Total area under their protection is 250,000 HA.
ATS works primarily against two main groups: Rhino Poachers, and Bushmeat Poachers.
The rhino poachers are highly skilled network in trafficking, well supported, and motivated by the rising demand for rhino horn in Asia. They are not afraid to use gunfire against ATS. The bushmeat poachers are prolific, subsidiary illegal hunters. These hunters employ snare traps, and usually, homemade type weapons, spears and knives. They know the bush very well and are vulnerable to becoming targets for ivory syndicates (rhino gangs) to recruit.
Their work is not for the faint of heart! Be sure to sit down, and learn something from this incredible team! You can also follow ATS for more information and to learn how to get involved! @ats_antipoaching
