ROYAL OAK, Mich. (AP) — Sculptures made from illegal snare traps that threaten wildlife in Africa are on display at the Detroit Zoo.
The exhibition “Snares to Wares: Capacity for Change” is on view at the Wildlife Interpretive Gallery at the zoo in the Detroit suburb of Royal Oak through next March. It includes works created by artisans in Uganda who live near a national park where poaching is a serious problem.
The Snares to Wares Initiative was created by students and conservationists at Michigan State University to provide alternative sources of income for people who may otherwise turn to poaching. Steel wires are often used to create the traps.
Under the initiative, traps are removed and the wire is used for sculptures of animals including lions, giraffes and elephants. The sculptures then are sold.
