Zoltan Bathory, the founding guitarist of the multi-million record selling rock band Five Finger Death Punch, has joined forces with VETPAW (Veterans Empowered To Protect African Wildlife), an anti-poaching organization protecting various African wild life reserves. Zoltan will serve on the board of advisors, landing logistical support to the group while raising awareness of the crisis Rhinos and Elephants face. 
 
Says Zoltan, “I heard a lot about VETPAW from the local Tanzanian rangers I was roaming around with in Africa a couple of years ago. So I contacted them and we ended up forming a close relationship. This year, I was on the ground in South Africa with their anti-poaching unit to see and experience firsthand what they do. I have been working with non-profits for a decade, helping Veterans whatever way I can, and this was just a perfect and righteous cause. VETPAW employs combat veterans and they protect endangered wild life - combining two causes I care about.”

VETPAW was founded in 2012 by Ryan Tate, a former post 9-11 Marine who saw what was happening to elephants and rhinos in Africa and realized that like himself, U.S. Veterans trained on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan in counter-insurgency warfare are remarkably well suited to re-purpose those skills in the battle to save African endangered species. The non-profit hires post 9-11 Veterans who are under or unemployed to go to work in conservation and anti-poaching. Working in conjunction with the Tanzanian Anti-Wildlife Crimes Task Force, Tate and his team successfully assisted the task force with investigations, security, strategy and ultimately the arrest of 50 suspected poachers, leading to the destruction of a poaching ring responsible for the deaths of countless elephants. 

VETPAW has teamed up with Discovery’s Animal Planet for “Blood Ivory,” a historic and exciting documentary series that premiered last Tuesday. “Blood Ivory” gives an unprecedented inside look into the often dangerous missions of an anti poaching team comprised of former U.S. Marine, Air Force, Army and Special Forces Green Beret soldiers alongside with Tanzanian Park Rangers.  It is a compelling and heartfelt journey that changed their lives and helped save the lives of animals that otherwise could have fallen victim to poaching. “Blood Ivory” is airing on Discovery's Animal Planet on Tuesday nights at 7 PM and 10 PM local time for a limited run. 

While “Blood Ivory” set the stage for this unique experiment in American Veterans conducting counter-poaching operations in Africa, today VETPAW maintains a base of operations in South Africa where their Veterans protect critically endangered rhinos from poaching. In addition, VETPAW has trained approximately 1,000 African Park Rangers in the latest counter-poaching techniques.

Known for his activism, Zoltan has spearheaded campaigns with Five Finger Death Punch and has raised over a quarter million dollars for various non-profits dedicated to help Veterans suffering from PTSD and TBI. He is the chairman of development of the Las Vegas-based “Home Deployment Project,” a non-profit getting homeless veterans off the streets and reintegrating them into society. Amongst many others, the band is a founding donor of the Marine Special Operation’s Raider Project and has been working with the Badge Of Honor Foundation helping the families of fallen police officers.