- The wildlife population in Zimbabwe is under serious
threat. The only hope is for sanity to return to the country before complete
extinction of many of the wildlife species. This is the view of a prominent
figure in the Zimbabwe conservation field. Due to sensitivity of his views
he wishes to remain anonymous.
-
- In an alarming letter to Farmer's Weekly he describes
how poaching and even legal hunting is decimating the game population in
the country.
-
- While some game may be surviving, he said, they are very
frightened and are difficult to see, let alone approach.
-
- We have the additional problem in that the DNP (Parks)
has bowed down to politics and have issued 'permits' for certain people
to hunt on their allocated plots, even though the farmer-owner is still
there. Looking at some of the figures, the numbers are completely unsustainable
and we do know of some who have turned it into a massive meat-harvesting
business, completely disregarding the 'quotas'. They are looked after as
long as the right people get the meat,' he said.
-
- Giraffes are probably the hardest-hit animals because
they are easiest to hunt with dogs and snares and give a huge amount of
meat in one go. Others are eland, impala and wildebeest, of which very
few will be found. As soon as a pocket of game is identified the poachers
move in, he said. Izak Hofmeyr
-
- Sometimes our lobbying does get through. This was taken
from my wildlife document which Doug took overseas, and which I subsequently
circulated to selected press. Obviously, the 8-page document was too much
to publish, but at least it did get a mention, as well as in their Weekly
Quotes column, below:
-
- "The only hope is for sanity to return to the country
before complete extinction of many of the wildlife species." - Prominent
figure in Zimbabwean conservation, in a letter sent to Farmer's Weekly
describing how poaching and even legal hunting is decimating the game population
in the country.
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- From Farmer's Weekly - Zimbabwe
-
-
- Comment
- From Mary Sparrowdancer
- 8-28-4
-
- As someone who has personally cared for over 20,000 wild
animals and wild birds in the United States, (under state and federal permits,
including permits to care for endangered species) I would like to comment
on the slaughter of the animals, on the slaughter of the humans, which
appears to be out of control.
-
- The appropriate care of our natural environment, including
preservation of wildlife species, is so extraordinarily important that
perhaps all life on Earth actually depends upon it.
-
- We live in a strange time - a time that appears to have
been predicted by many Native American and Aboriginal Peoples.
-
- In this strange time in which we all now live, it is
those who do not find their way into mainstream news focus, (whether they
are human beings, animals or plant life), who are destined now, at this
time, to simply be harvested by a strange,
- increasingly global group of dictators who seem to be
perpetually hungry for nothing other than harvest.
-
- Harvest without plan is foreign to the Native Peoples
with whom I am familiar.
-
- Harvest without compassion or wisdom is mindless and
does not consider the ramifications that the actions might have upon future
generations.
-
- One does not simply take as much as one can take in one
season - one does not take the biggest and the best of all species, unless
one is a fool, or is so detatched from the Earth that he is uncaring of
future generations.
-
- To take the biggest and the best and simply sacrifice
them to assuage immediate hunger, means that in that moment, one is taking
and destroying the hope of the future. This applies not only to the poaching
of animals. It also applies to machinery of war, and the taking of boys
and girls to carry out the machinery of war.
-
- We live in a time of very strange hunger. At what point
it will be satiated, I do not know. The entire world seems to be driven
by this strange hunger to consume as much as possible - as though we were
all becoming less like caretakers of this world, and more like flesh-eating
bacteria.
-
- My hope is that those of us who are still capable of
waking up, will do so - before it is too late. We need to wake up and
replace insatiable hunger with wisdom and compassion.
-
- mary sparrowdancer
- www.sparrowdancer.com
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