Lee Hurford

Built, lost, rebuilt
Former Royal Marine
Telecoms | Security | Africa 🇳🇦
African bush | Rhino anti-poaching
Family first. Real-world deals

[Sue Spurgin @SueSpurgin]

🦏 Happy #RhinoFriday!
Out from behind mum comes the future… small, strong, and full of promise. Every rhino calf born in the wild is a beautiful reminder that hope still exists �� and that there is a future worth fighting for. 💚 Say NO to #rhino horn!

📹 Oliver Adams

[Sue Spurgin @SueSpurgin]

#Rhinos may face predators in the wild… but their deadliest enemy has never been a lion or crocodile. It’s humans! Driven by greed, we’ve pushed these magnificent giants to the brink. That should shame us all. Say NO to rhino horn!
https://t.co/rTgFRq6lrE

[Lee Hurford @MDSBattle2014]

I've spent time alongside anti-poaching teams in Namibia and can see arguments on both sides of this debate.
The real question is simple:
Would a regulated legal trade reduce poaching and weaken criminal syndicates, or increase demand and make the problem worse?
Interested to hear informed views from those working in conservation. 🦏
#RhinoConservation #StopPoaching #ConservationDebate #Namibia

[Sue Spurgin @SueSpurgin]

Rhino horn trade remains one of conservation's most controversial debates. While I remain firmly opposed to legalising #rhino horn trade, understanding arguments on both sides is important. Mike Bolhuis examines the pro-trade case in Part 1 of his series. https://t.co/tKPBEXQG6s

[Lee Hurford @MDSBattle2014]

While I understand the argument that a regulated trade could generate funding for conservation, the key question is whether it would genuinely reduce demand and weaken criminal syndicates—or unintentionally strengthen them.

What I do know is that intelligence-led investigations, community involvement, dehorning programmes, technology, and well-supported rangers are making a real difference on the ground.

Whatever side people take in this debate, the future of rhino conservation must remain the priority. 🦏

[Lee Hurford @MDSBattle2014]

@Manu_Sisti @wise_chimp Book

[Lee Hurford @MDSBattle2014]

Having spent time in Namibia, one thing became clear:

The future of conservation depends on the people who live alongside wildlife.

When communities benefit from jobs, education and opportunitythey become the first line of defence against poaching and organised wildlife crime.

Criminal syndicates thrive where poverty and desperation exist. They struggle where communities have pride, purpose and a stake in protecting what surrounds them.

Protect the people. Protect the wildlife.

Because when communities thrive, wildlife survives. Lasting conservation is not built through fences and enforcement alone—it is built by empowering people, creating opportunity, and ensuring that those who share their land with wildlife also share in its future. Protecting people and protecting nature are not separate goals; they are one and the same.

#Rhino #Conservation #CommunityConservation #Africa

[Sue Spurgin @SueSpurgin]

#SouthAfrica Project Blood Orange: R5.8m in assets seized from alleged #rhino #poaching syndicate. An investigation into rhino horn trafficking allegedly involving former game rangers is yielding results & dismantling a major rhino poaching syndicate👏👏
https://t.co/ql6B3ZJDWm

[Lee Hurford @MDSBattle2014]

@markmywords This week, two poachers received almost 50 years in prison between them.
What's the difference between poaching and trophy hunting in your opinion?
Genuine question.

[Lee Hurford @MDSBattle2014]

After spending time around African wildlife, I've seen first-hand how much these animals mean to local communities.
What's your view on trophy hunting?
Conservation tool or outdated practice?
👇
#Wildlife #Africa #Conservation #Elephants #Nature

[mark 🇿🇦 @markmywords]

https://t.co/jcyrnPzHBr

[Lee Hurford @MDSBattle2014]

Another major sentence handed down for rhino poaching in Kruger National Park.

Protecting endangered wildlife requires strong enforcement, support for rangers on the ground and international cooperation against organised poaching networks.

Rhinos are part of Africa’s natural heritage — once they’re gone, they’re gone forever.

#RhinoPoaching #Conservation #WildlifeProtection #SaveTheRhino #Africa #KrugerNationalPark #AntiPoaching #WildlifeConservation #SouthAfrica #EndangeredSpecies

[Helping Rhinos 🦏 @HelpingRhinos]

The Skukuza Regional Court has handed down a 20 year sentence for crimes relating to rhino poaching.
https://t.co/Mko9NqFHoZ

[Lee Hurford @MDSBattle2014]

Namibia changes your perspective 🇳🇦
Out there, every animal is just trying to make it.
No fences. No script. Just nature doing its thing.
Etosha is something everyone should experience at least once in their life

#Namibia #Etosha #Wildlife #Safari #Africa

[Gondwana-Lodges @GondwanaLodges]

This is the heartbeat of Etosha National Park. Untamed, unscripted, and utterly unforgettable! Stay close to the action: https://t.co/QQWDSyv1sr
📸: Otto Khoedipasen
#GondwanaLodges #LionKill #NamibiaTourism #EtoshaKingNehale #etoshanatinalpark

[Lee Hurford @MDSBattle2014]

28 years for killing rhinos in Kruger.
This is exactly why rangers on the front line deserve more support, better equipment and international backing.

Two rhinos lost forever — but at least in this case the DNA, ballistic evidence and relentless work of the rangers ensured justice was delivered.

Wildlife crime is organised crime. Protecting Africa’s wildlife means protecting its future. 🦏🌍

#RhinoPoaching #SouthAfrica #KrugerNationalPark #WildlifeCrime #Conservation #StopPoaching #SaveTheRhino #WildlifeProtection #Africa #AntiPoaching

[Sue Spurgin @SueSpurgin]

#SouthAfrica fantastic news to start the week! #Rhino #poacher jailed for 28 years by Skukuza Reginal Court! DNA & ballistic evidence linked a convicted poacher to the killing of two #rhinos in the Kruger National Park. Justice for rhinos! 👏👏👏 https://t.co/2whk28ncW3

[Lee Hurford @MDSBattle2014]

One of the last great super tuskers gone.

Animals like Zito are part of Africa’s natural heritage and once they’re gone, they can never truly be replaced. A sad loss for conservation and future generations. 🐘🌍

At a time when so few super tuskers remain, many people will understandably question whether hunts involving such rare animals should still be taking place.

[Lee Hurford @MDSBattle2014]

After spending time on anti-poaching patrols and travelling through Namibia, you realise how important safety and stability are to conservation and tourism across Africa.

Incidents like this damage not only lives and families, but also local communities, wildlife conservation and international confidence in the region.

Africa remains one of the most beautiful places on earth — but protecting both people and wildlife must always come first.

#Namibia #Africa #WildlifeConservation #AntiPoaching #TravelAfrica

[Lee Hurford @MDSBattle2014]

Ready to volunteer in Namibia? 🇳🇦🦏

Not a zoo.

Real anti-poaching patrols, wildlife, adventure & experiences you never forget.

From rhino patrols to life in the African bush — this was only seconds of an incredible journey.

Interested in future Namibia experiences or volunteering opportunities?
Follow & message me.

#Namibia #SaveTheRhino #WildlifeConservation #AntiPoaching #Africa https://t.co/sl3hyaWjvp

[Lee Hurford @MDSBattle2014]

The biggest stories are rarely the ones the public ever fully hears.

After seeing parts of that world first-hand, one thing became very clear to me: when sensitive information threatens powerful interests, what happens behind the scenes is often very different from what the public is told.

#Politics #Media #Government #Truth #Transparency #Geopolitics #Investigation #News #CurrentAffairs

[Artur Nadolny @ArturNadol7566]

HE KNEW THE DOSSIER WAS FAKE. WEEKS LATER HE WAS DEAD IN A FIELD

Dr David Kelly was Britain's foremost weapons inspector. He spent years inspecting Iraqi facilities, earned a Nobel Peace Prize nomination, and knew more about Saddam's arsenal than almost anyone in government.

In 2002, Tony Blair's government published a dossier claiming Iraq could deploy chemical and biological weapons within 45 minutes. Britain went to war on the back of it. No weapons were ever found.

Kelly knew the dossier was rubbish. He said so, quietly, to a @BBC journalist. That conversation ended his career, his privacy, and ultimately his life.

The MOD carefully allowed his name to leak to the press as the BBC's source. He was then hauled before parliamentary committees, stripped apart by his own employer, and thrown to a media frenzy he never asked for.

Two days after giving evidence to MPs, the 59-year-old was found dead in woodland near his Oxfordshire home.

Instead of a proper inquest, Tony Blair asked Lord Hutton to run a private inquiry. Hutton concluded suicide. The inquest was opened, then suspended, and never resumed.

Eight senior legal and medical figures, including a coroner, later wrote to @thetimes saying the verdict was unsafe. They argued the wound found on Kelly's wrist, a severed ulnar artery, would not have caused sufficient blood loss to kill a healthy person.

There were no fingerprints on the knife found beside his body, even though he was not wearing gloves.

In 2011, Attorney General Dominic Grieve rejected all calls for a new inquest. He said the Hutton Inquiry was "tantamount to an inquest" and that further investigation would be dismissed by judges with irritation.

A man challenged the government's justification for a war that killed hundreds of thousands of people. He was publicly destroyed, died in mysterious circumstances, never got a proper inquest, and the people who sent him into that media storm faced no consequences whatsoever.

Tony Blair became a Middle East Peace Envoy the following year. You genuinely could not make it up.

Sources: @BBCNews, openDemocracy, Hansard, @thetimes | Hutton Report

[Lee Hurford @MDSBattle2014]

@leedsrhinos Fergie McCormack all the best 💪

[Lee Hurford @MDSBattle2014]

@leedsrhinos Fergie McCormack 👏👏

[Lee Hurford @MDSBattle2014]

@gorillacd “Conservation has real heroes.
Rest in peace to the Rangers who gave their lives protecting Virunga and its wildlife. 🇨🇩🦍”

[Lee Hurford @MDSBattle2014]

People often see the wildlife… but not the sacrifice behind protecting it.

Huge respect to the Rangers risking their lives every day in places like Virunga to protect both nature and local communities.

Rest in peace to the fallen Rangers. 🇨🇩🦍”

#Virunga #ProtectTheProtectors #Conservation #AntiPoaching #WildlifeProtection #Africa

[Virunga National Park @gorillacd]

It is with profound sadness that Virunga National Park confirms the deaths of two Park Rangers following a deadly armed attack on the ICCN post at Kamuhororo, on the southern shore of Lake Edward, this morning, Thursday 21 May 2026.⁠
⁠
Read the full statement: https://t.co/rWtsDSnfGC

[Lee Hurford @MDSBattle2014]

If you love the African bush, this is the ultimate triple threat. 🦁🦏🦛
A lion, a rhino, and a hippo all in one frame. Nothing beats the raw, unpredictable energy of the wild. Turn your sound up for this! 🌿🔊
Which one of these three giants is your favourite to spot? 👇
#AfricanBush #AfricanSafari #Wildlife #Nature

Check out this TikTok I posted! https://t.co/yk78K7ZJcm