At 00:21 28/05/2000 +1000, you wrote:
>Gooday all,
>Those that are revolted by the killing of animals for sport please delete
>now.
>
>The possible consequences of the philosophy expoused about the Newhaven
>acquisition for Birders could actually be the same argument utilised by
>Bowhunters and those great white hunters that get their kicks from going on
>Safari demanding a place to hunt.
>
>Check out the possible consequences at
>http://zwsafaris.com/gallery99_page2.htm
>
>How do they get away with the slaughter of such beautiful African wildlife?
>With the 21st century around the corner we certainly still have our
>Barbarians.
>
>Jon Wren
Dear Jon and others,
This is a little off-topic so I'll try to be brief, but as an
ex-Zimbabwean who was involved in wildlife research there, and marginally
with the CAMPFIRE program, I feel I should respond.
First, I should say I am not a hunter and don't enjoy the killing of
any animals - domestic or wild. However, I'm also not a vegetarian so
I cannot condemn the killing of animals. "Beautiful wildlife" I agree,
but so are lambs, calves, etc and I can assure you the some pictures
from the abbatoirs could be just as horrible.
Whether you consider these hunters are "Barbarians" or not, shouldn't blind you
to the larger picture.
My criteria for the killing of wildlife is that it must be done with
the minimum of cruelty and it must not endanger the survival of the
species (ie be sustainable).
Desperately poor Africans don't see the beauty in these animals above the
need for money and food. They see meat, and land being occupied, with little
benefit coming to them.
Although its not been widely publicised, some of the so-called ""war-vets""
in Zimbabwe have recently invaded private game ranches and also at least one
National Park (Gona-re-Zhou).
The CAMPFIRE project tries to ensure that wildlife is
conserved and then controlled hunting areas are allowed, with the proviso
that the money derived comes back to the locals, who are thus encouraged
to protect this resource.
Whether or not the hunting organisation shown on the webpage is part of
CAMPFIRE, it is bringing much needed foreign currency into the country.
[I wish I could believe the government would use the money wisely for
the people!]
Whether you like it or not, controlled hunting (and I emphasise the
"controlled" bit which is/was the case in Zimbabwe} will not
endanger the populations of species and will protect large areas
in which many other species of mammals/birds/etc live.
I am in NO doubt that if these hunting operations are stopped, the
land they use will be taken over for farming and ALL the wildlife
will be gone. Most of the trees too, since firewood is the main
energy source. Where will the birds sit then?
Just to put the land problem in perspective, Zimbabwe,
which would comfortably fit in the "pointy" bit of Queensland, has
a population of about 12 million, it has inflation at 60-70% and
50% unemployment, and c. 25% HIV+
So, much as I love the wild country and wildlife in Zim,
its future is bleak unless it pays its way.
Cheers
Pete
Dr Peter Woodall email =
Division of Vet Pathology & Anatomy
School of Veterinary Science. Phone = +61 7 3365 2300
The University of Queensland Fax = +61 7 3365 1355
Brisbane, Qld, Australia 4072 WWW = http://www.uq.edu.au/~anpwooda
"hamba phezulu" (= "go higher" in isiZulu)
Birding-Aus is on the Web at
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