Lusaka- Poachers in the eastern part of Zambia have surrendered about 1,700 illegal firearms and over 40,000 wire snares used to kill wild animals in game management areas, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) of Zambia was quoted Tuesday as saying. Appearing before a parliamentary committee, WCS-Zambia program director Dale Lewis said that even though a number of people in the area have shown interest in surrendering the firearms, poaching has not been reduced, the Times of Zambia reported.

He said WCS of Zambia had made headway in reducing the number of poachers in the southern African country though the introduction of a programme called Community Markets for Conservation (Comaco), which is helping the government address challenges in wildlife conservation.

Comaco is a program in Zambia which teaches former poachers new ways to make a living in order to support conservation goals. (dpa)