Operation Corded is the code name for the British military

anti-poaching Anti-poaching is the organised act to counter the poaching of wildlife. However, it is generally used to describe an overall effort against the illegal wildlife trade. The act of anti-poaching is normally carried out by national parks on public ...

operation to help tackle the ongoing illegal wildlife trade in sub-Saharan Africa. In March 2022 Operation Corded was awarded the Sanctuary Award by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation.

Background

Launched in May 2018 and funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the operations' main objective is to train and support local park rangers who are responsible for the day-to-day protection of the national and wildlife parks. Training is provided in tracking, bush craft, investigations and intelligence analysis to improve the interception of poachers. Training is provided by

Royal Military Police The Royal Military Police (RMP) is the corps of the British Army responsible for the policing of army service personnel, and for providing a military police presence both in the UK and while service personnel are deployed overseas on operations ...

, army medics and infantry Patrols are conducted by grouping British servicemen with local rangers in order to ensure the successful retention of training provided Soldiers being briefed Op Corded

Fatalities

On 5 May 2019, whilst patrolling in

Liwonde National Park Liwonde National Park, also known as Liwonde Wildlife Reserve, is a national park in southern Malawi, near the Mozambique border. The park was established in 1973, and has been managed by the nonprofit conservation organization African Parks since ...

, Guardsman Matthew Talbot was charged by an African elephant and died as a result of injuries sustained, despite medics working on him for 4 hours and 17 minutes. His body was returned to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

on 14 May 2019.

Controversy

As a result of the death of Gdsm Talbot, both Ministry of Defence and coroners enquiries have been conducted. Both have found the military risk assessment and medical timeline strategies to be inefficient, as from the point of injury Gdsm Talbot was approximately 7 hours from the nearest hospital and had not received any pain relief before his death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corded, Operation Military operations involving the United Kingdom