1st Battalion Welsh Guards help wage war on big game poachers in Kenya

1st Battalion Welsh Guards have been training an anti-poaching team in Kenya to help them fight the growing threat posed by big game poachers.

The Guards used their experience of war torn countries and insurgents to pass on operational techniques.

The work includes teaching the team anti-ambush drills and map reading skills, which they will use to prevent poachers tracking and killing the animals.

The anti-poaching team will work a 11 – 13 hr shift through the night.

A shift involves working in observation posts, patrolling areas where they know the poachers are operating and actively taking on the poachers.

A single rhino horn can earn poachers $40,000.

The Welsh Guards say the poachers also track elephants, and are wiping out stocks and herds of animals on a large scale.

The poachers are often well-trained, with high-tech equipment including thermal imagery and the ability to see well at night.