About Painted Dog Conservation

Painted Dog Conservation (PDC) is a non-profit making organisation registered in Zimbabwe as a private voluntary organisation PVO 13/2005.

Our mission is to protect and increase the range and numbers of painted dogs.

How are we trying to do this?

We have put together a conservation model that will really work in the long term, and make a significant difference to the painted dog population in Zimbabwe. We employ more than 60 people from the local villages to run our conservation programs and run our education and outreach programs.

These efforts span everything from our Anti-Poaching Unit team which patrols local areas daily to provide a direct form of protection for the dogs, we run our Rehabilitation Facility where we treat injured and orphaned dogs before returning them to the wild.

We monitor more than 6 packs of painted dogs daily across Hwange National Park and 4 packs in Mana Pools and the Mid-Zambezi.

In addition to helping painted dog populations, we want to help human ones, too.

Our education and outreach programs prioritise community spirit. We have established projects and programs that directly help improve the lives of local residents. To this end, we’ve set up a Children's Bush camp, a Visitors Centre, collaborative art projects, conservation clubs, community gardens, and more.

Our history

PDC evolved out of pure scientific research being conducted in Hwange National Park in the mid 1990s. It soon became apparent that vast majority of painted dog deaths outside of Hwange National Park were found to be due to human causes—snares, traffic accidents, shootings—led by a general ignorance and prejudice towards the species. This cemented our core approach to helping painted dogs, which remains the same today: to identify the critical issues and find a way to make a significant and lasting contribution to painted dog conservation, conservation of nature, and the lives of the local community with a special emphasis on the individual.