The beautiful Magaliesberg mountain in Hartbeespoort is being destroyed at an alarming rate by illegal wood choppers. And members of the public who buy the wood along Hartbeespoort’s roads, are supporting this carnage of a protected area.

These photos were taken the past week during a renewed attempt by residents to put a stop to the destruction.
Hartbeespoort residents, the Kormorant, and various organisations have been trying over the past years to get the nature conservation department in North West to act on the illegal wood chopping in the protected Magaliesberg Biosphere. Besides a handful of operations in Hartbeespoort during which wood was confiscated along the road, the department has not made any attempt to address the alarming destruction that is more visible every day. Pleas seem to fall on deaf ears.
We request the public not to buy wood from vendors along Hartbeespoort’s roads. If you do, you are also responsible for destroying the beautiful Magaliesberg.

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ALSO SEE: Stop the Magaliesberg carnage