Solitary Man

I have led a life that has been the envy of many, although there are some who consider me to be certifiably insane!

I am an introvert, a solitary man, one who much prefers his own company to being in one.

So what does an introverted, shy and almost reclusive young man do in the way of a suitable career?

Fascinated by wildlife and photography, the choice became obvious.

That choice saw me spending the best part of my life tramping through the African bush, helping out with ethological research, becoming totally in tune with my surroundings and the wildlife within.

As age crept up on me, unannounced and unwanted, I discovered that I no longer had the physical strength or agility required to continue, eventually having to give in to the inevitable and return to what the general population confidently and somewhat optimistically refers to as “civilisation”.

Feeling lost and stuck in a place that I didn’t enjoy much, I started banging away at the keyboard, watching strings of letters become words, words become sentences, paragraphs and pages until, almost as if by magic, a book was born.

One book led to three, with a few others on the side, all telling the stories of the bush, the people, the wildlife, and telling of a life that fulfilled me.

The books had a good reception by those who bought them, with a number of reviews that made me feel that I was doing the right thing. Local and international sales slowly, very slowly, began to build.

Step two was then initiated as a direct result of seeing the horror that is poaching.

How man could do such things to an animal is beyond belief.

Having been involved at ground-level, so to speak, I decided to do something for the dedicated, hard-working rangers – the unsung heroes of the war currently being fought.

Through the sales of the books, I could spend some of the proceeds to help out in the field against this poaching scourge that is decimating our wildlife, rhino in particular.

Rather than donate money, I decided to buy the things the rangers needed and help in a really tangible way. Things like boot-laces, socks, boots, protective clothing, gps units, radios, and so on.

A marketing effort was started with the vast social-media fraternity all telling me what a good guy I was.

Encouraged by the response, I started putting stories ‘out there’.

And then disappointment reared its ugly little head.

Disappointment in all the people, and there were thousands, who think that ‘liking’ my articles, blogs and observations is all that is required to help our desperately endangered wildlife.

But rhinos, elephants, lions and all the other endangered species can’t read and have no idea as to how many people ‘like’ the stuff written about them, but don’t do anything more.

I wrote an account of an elephant who befriended me. That one story attracted over 168 000 ‘likes’, but only one book order amidst many, many pleas for me to write more.

So all this begs the question: is my marketing effort totally ineffectual?

Does apathy rule in the minds of all the people I have so obviously had a deep impact on?

How do I convince people to commit?

I don’t ask for much.

And it’s most definitely a two-way trade – by buying a book, you receive something tangible, something that brings Africa alive in your mind, a book that you can hold, smell, enjoy and keep.

In return, a ranger or two, working so hard and selflessly, deep in the bush, in terribly dangerous conditions, is presented with goodies to make his life that little bit more comfortable.

While you are comfortably enjoying sitting in the lounge, surrounded by all the comforts of home, spare a thought for the rangers. Patrolling, nerves on edge, searching, listening, tracking, trying to get to the bad guys before another rhino is butchered. Shivering in cold rain, clothing saturated, or sweltering in temperatures that make you glad that you have a swimming pool to cool down in.

And while you eat a fine meal, in the company of friends and family, remember the ranger, eating cold food out of a tin because he can’t risk a fire that may be seen by those rampaging killers.

It is a win-win situation. You help financially, which makes you feel good, and get a best-selling book to keep, to remind you that you did something really worthwhile in our war against poaching.

A war that shows no sign of ending anytime soon.

A war whose fighters need all the help they can get.

Buy a book – help a ranger.

https://www.facebook.com/Tales-from-the-African-bush-429328593862084/?ref=hl

www.msomi.co.za

www.potjiepress.co.za

Christine Jordaan – Guest Blog

I don’t care if people laugh at this…

I have written it simply because I am tired, and at the end of the day Love is simple. If you love something you stay up all night crying and trying to figure out ways to end the suffering of those whom you love.

So simply …

Current State of the Planet and Animal Affairs:

Humans have imposed their socio-economic system on all of Earth’s species.
Humans will not pay for animals unless they can profit from them.
Humans are using all the resources, and animals are denied fair access to these Resources.
Humans have and are continuing to destroy animals’ habitat.
Humans are torturing and killing animals for fun, eating them, wearing them, breeding them (mostly all of these activities are done causing physical and emotional pain to the animals and ultimately loss of Life.

Even animals in so-called Reserves are not really free and still remain at risk of death – whether by legal hunting and culling, or illegal poaching.
Currently animals are living painful, trapped lives under the Human system.

If humans could see this one simple fact, everything would change –

ANIMALS ARE NOT RESOURCES FOR HUMANS TO USE!

Humans did not create Earth or the animals. We have enslaved them under our socio-economic system.

Animals need to have their right to life, habitat and resources legally recognised. They need to have a percentage of seats in each government, and on the United Nations.

If animals are to survive under humanity’s occupation of Earth, and their socio-economic system… then animals need to earn money.

This will enable them to pay for their own protection, vet care, fences, water systems, bridges over highways etc.

Human extractive industries need to pay taxes to animals. It’s only fair. Humans are using these resources, denying access to the animals’ and thus the animals are due compensation.
Humans can pay this compensation into a fund to be administered by a human team of legal advisers, ecologists, communicators etc.

Parts of open land need to be converted into sanctuaries for animals that are currently enslaved in the human socio-economic system (zoos, circuses, farms, laboratories) to be retired to. Land ownership to be transferred to the animals’ Fund.
Wilderness that is still left needs to be placed under immediate protection from ANY human development – or maybe low density tourism development at the edges – of course the Animals’ Fund will own this land, and manage these businesses on behalf of the animals – again – this will enable the animals to pay their own costs.
Humans must stop developing pristine nature, and start rehabilitating inner cities, and ruins etc. Clean up their mess and start building in harmony with nature – clean energy etc.

To kick off proceedings, compensation should be paid to animals for past land grabs and trauma.

Breeding of animals for commercial purposes needs to stop. When the animals have enough land, natural processes will ensue. Corridors should be created for animals to move in between reserves and sanctuaries – for their freedom, and a healthy gene pool. Hunting of animals for any reason should immediately be banned. Animals in hunting camps should be retired to sanctuaries (paid for by the Animals’ Fund).

It’s only FAIR – if we are imposing our socio-economic system on all the other species of Earth, then their rights under this system must be legally recognised and enforceable.

Otherwise Humanity is a Dictator – a Brutal Tyrant occupying Earth (which spells Heart).

We have taken everything from the animals – the simple pleasures of the elephant herds wandering from the bush to the lake system… a fence stops them… birds are born to soar but we’ve caged them… apes are behind bars faraway in BLOODy China… and lions are bred for the bullet… waiting to die.

Isn’t it time we stopped our bullshit and started living with Compassion and Integrity?

People keep saying for the animals to stay they must pay their way. But actually what they really mean is for the animals to stay they must earn some human somewhere some profit.

And this is just for the dubious honour of being allowed to stay alive in some miserable conditions until it is time for them to be eaten or tortured and skinned alive, or made to perform humiliating stupid tricks for some humans to laugh at somewhere.

Well then – let the animals participate in our socio-economic system. Let them participate as beings who deserve respect.

It’s not that they can’t talk – centuries ago we humans used to be so in touch with Nature, her moods, and her animals.

We have been taught to block it out – so that the carnage can continue unchallenged.

And so we have fractured from the Divine Feminine/Earth.

If we see ourselves as part of this beautiful Ecosystem, we would acknowledge the animals’ right to life and resources without question.

Christine Jordaan

 

They Moved Us ……

I have no idea who Mark O’Leary is, but he wrote this on one of the many news sites announcing today’s loss to the entertainment industry.

He wrote this with an empathy and skill that far exceeds anything I could have come up with.

I shamelessly stole it and hope he doesn’t mind ……..

David Bowie is gone.

Goodbye, sir.

He did not cure cancer, or solve global warming, or simplify our world with an amazing invention.

Neither did Michael Hutchence, Lemmy Kilmister, Natalie Cole, John Lennon, Freddie Mercury, Lou Reed, Joey Ramone et al. Some will ask why all the outpouring of emotions. After all, they were merely musicians, weren’t they?

Yes, they were.

So if that’s the case, then what DID they do?

Why do we care that David Bowie and so many others have passed away?

Three words: THEY MOVED US!

That’s exactly what they did.

Their music and artistry moved us.

They reached our emotions in so many different ways. They called us to action. They touched raw nerves. They touched our soul. They let us rebel. They found our angst. Our anger. Our passions. Our frustrations. And our hopes and fears. They made us want to dance. They made us cry. They made us pump our fists into the air. They made us want to chill. They made us sing. Their music allowed us to shut out the rest of the world, even if it was only for the duration of one song, or an album. We sat back, closed our eyes, and let the music wash over us. They put our emotions into words. It seemed as if their lyrics were written just for us — as if someone finally knew how we felt. These artists stimulated our imagination and touched our hearts. They made us feel like we could be king and you could be queen.

Like we could be heroes … for just one day.

But it all goes back to those three simple words: They moved us.

That’s why they were, and still are, important.

So with a tip of my hat to the Thin White Duke, I say ‘thank you’ for the music.

Rest in peace Ziggy Stardust.

(Mark O’Leary)

Wake Up My Beloved Country.

Those who know me know that I am not racist, love my country dearly, and try hard not to be ‘political’.

Recently, I was, by inference, branded as a racist for suggesting that we all stop blaming the past for the present, and noticed a veritable outpouring of hatred, in all forms of media, for fellow beings simply because of skin colour. This shouldn’t happen. We live in a country with potential, with natural beauty, with awesome people and could be truly great.

Africa’s problems are not as intractable, as deep-seated as some would like us to believe.

Sure, in South Africa, apartheid was a horror, and elsewhere in Africa colonialism did its fair share of damage.

Sure, centuries of under-development have left large chunks of Africa in a terrible cycle of poverty, crime and desperation.

The solutions? Believe me, they are all around us. There are the people to make them work. Africa’s talent is overwhelming.

In my travels around southern Africa, I have come across many many individuals who want to make a difference and are willing to work towards the goal of making Africa great.

So why are we all crawling along at a snail’s pace, with massive unemployment, staggeringly large numbers of HIV patients, thousands of matriculants who can’t read or write and a myriad other problems we all seem happy to accept.

And why does South Africa, in particular, have a terrible reputation on the international front for blaming the past as a reason for moving so slowly?

The problem is culture. Culture of respect. Culture of entitlement. Culture of hero worship. Culture of employment rather than entrepreneurship. Culture of selfishness. Culture of ideology. Culture of blaming whites. Culture of blaming blacks. Culture of ignoring the good in others. Culture of deifying the past.

Culture has trapped Africa in its cocoon and made it feel all warm and fuzzy. It is, after all, what makes everyone feel most comfortable. In its turn, it’s keeping Africa in the starting blocks. While others are shooting for the stars, we in Africa are calcifying.

If we don’t break this negative cycle, and soon, we will all wake up one morning and wonder what the hell happened.

Take economics as an example. Why does Africa continue to flirt with communist models and language while no-one mentions that in the 1960’s Singapore was poorer than Uganda, Nigeria and many other African countries? Singapore has no mineral resources. Africa has plenty.

Today, while the people of Nigeria and many other well-endowed African countries battle with hunger, Singaporeans enjoy a life-style better than many New Yorkers.

The culture of deifying the likes of Julius Nyerere, Robert Mugabe and communist idols like Stalin and Lenin is preventing Africa from taking on the great ideas that made Lee Kuan Yew turn Singapore into an economic powerhouse.

So what was the key to Singapore’s success? Uppermost – the willingness to learn from others. Early on, the country found good models of state intervention in Israel and the Netherlands to accelerate development. Just as an aside, Israel, and economic success story in its own right is smaller than the Kruger National Park!

Juxtapose this with the fact that in South Africa, delegations are sent to Zimbabwe to learn about land reform. We have fallen into a culture where we deify a “struggle hero” despite the fact that he is a modern-day despot.

In 2012, South Africa’s president stated that the matric mathematics pass-rate was only marginally better than it was in 1995. Anywhere else in the world there would be shocked outrage. But Africa is held back by the culture of not decrying incompetence. Surely the top officials in the ministry of education should be fired?

Let’s put it differently. When last did anyone hear of or meet someone who was fired for incompetence? The truth is that incompetence is tolerated across the board. This, in turn, leads to a culture of entitlement.

In South Africa, Home Affairs officials feel entitled to their jobs and therefore passport and other applications move at a snail’s pace. Police see the top cop in the land consorting with a known criminal warlord and feel entitled to bribes. If the top cop can do it, why not the lowly guy who can ‘lose’ a docket.

In our African countries, we have developed to a fine art the culture of calling people racists when they disagree with the official line on anything. And so the culture of intolerance rises, subjugation of openness deepens.

There is a solution. That solution is to change Africa’s culture, lock, stock and barrel.

First, let us get out of bed every morning as new men and women. Let us aim to create jobs, not beg for them. Let us put the past aside and see each other, regardless of colour or creed, as partners. Let us forget fruitless debates – they have been enjoined a million times before. Instead, let us take the examples of the very best in the world and implement them here in Africa.

Education needs to be the number one priority. We should be doing everything possible to ensure there is a skilled workforce.

Finally, though, let us set the bar very high. We have it within us to change our various backward cultures and embrace a new culture. A culture of efficiency. A culture of entrepreneurship.  A culture of education at all costs. A culture of choosing practical, good examples. A culture of accountability. A culture of excellence in all that we do.

That is how you fix our beloved land – set the bar high, every hour, every day.

Will You Cry For Me?

I am privileged to have a very special friend, Christine, who is a tireless campaigner for the eradication of animal abuse through canned hunting and poaching. She has many talents, not least of which is her poetic streak, a talent I wish I shared.

Christine kindly agreed to be my guest on the blog with one of her recent works. And by recent, I really mean it. It was written today!

Thanks Christine, and keep doing what you’re doing. Eventually, people will begin to listen and begin to help us all.

Will you cry for me?

When the forest falls silent of chattering birds
and the moon shines down on empty glades,
when the Earth no longer shakes under the migrating herds
and the trees are felled where the cheeky apes played

Will you cry for me then?

When the ice melts and grasslands turn to sand
and the gentle humble giants no longer roam the barren lands,
when the setting Sun is pining for the lion’s mighty roar
and the sweet sad sound of the night jar’s call

Will you cry for me then?

When flamingos no longer grace the mirror-like pans
and no koegals joyfully herald approaching soft rains,
when no Mahogany tree lends his shade from the burning sun
nor their pods crunch underfoot in late summertime

Will you cry for me then?

When the lonely wind carries just a memory of a mighty eagle soaring,
and an echo of a dreamtime with soft water falling,
and the ground is soaked in blood of humans’ pointless warring,
pause then,
listen then,
can you not hear Me calling?

When there is no relief from the Long Dark Night
because you’ve blocked out the pain and blinded your sight,
you’ve turned away from the agonising screams
and traded in the Real for fake gold and cheap dreams

pause then,
weep then,
can you not feel yourself falling?

When the last rhino’s horn has been ground into dust,
and we’ve betrayed and we’ve broken the last animals’ trust
and you awaken to a grey land of emptiness and dread
don’t cry for Me then,
for I am your Heart
and I will be dead

by Christine Jordaan, 02 January 2016

2015 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. This blog was viewed about 81,000 times in 2015. If it were an exhibit at the Louvre Museum, it would take about 3 days for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Blatant Self-Promotion Time ……

My new book, “One Chance”, released today.

Quite an exciting day for me, I must say, and I hope that an exceptionally large number of book aficionados will buy it, not only to enhance their own book-shelves, but also to help provide tools and much-needed equipment to our hard-working, dedicated rangers on the ground. These unsung heroes are in need of all sorts of things, from boot-laces and socks, to all-weather clothing, gps units, boots and so on. Remember that 30% of book proceeds goes towards acquiring and distributing this equipment to a bunch a men and women who ask for nothing more than to make their jobs marginally more comfortable.

They are all heroes in my eyes, and I hope you feel the same way, and do your bit to support them.

 

 

Listen …..

During one of our frequent discussions about life, the universe and everything, Msomi asked:

“Why do we have two ears and only one tongue?”

“For once, Msomi, I can answer, now you will see that I do know something.”

He tilted his head to one side, inviting my response.

“Because we should listen twice as much as we should speak.”

“Yebo, yes. No-one listens properly. And stories are dying because no-one listens.”

This is so true.

In Africa, listening is the guiding principle, one that’s been lost in the constant chatter of the Western world where no-one seems to have the time or even the desire to listen to anyone else.

It’s as if we have all lost the ability to listen, and listen well.

Everybody talks, and everybody seems intimidated by silence.

As a story-teller myself, I am struck by the differences in narrative style. The Western approach, and one I am also partially guilty of, is one of linearity. It proceeds from beginning to end without major digression in space or time.

That is not the case in Africa.

Instead of a linear, well-ordered story, there is unrestrained and exuberant story-telling that skips back and forth in space and time, blending past and present.

The San people, during their day-long wanderings in the quest for food and water, tell stories as they search.

They can have three or four stories running in parallel, told with conviction, humour and skill.

As they get close to home, or to the place where they will spend the night, they manage to either skilfully intertwine the stories to a common ending, or split them apart, giving each its own ending, and all at just the right time.

When I was looking for ways to get surrounding communities involved in caring for the wildlife, I would visit the local people to talk of my plans for community involvement.

On one occasion I had to wait a while for the previous meeting to end before I would be heard.

On a simple wooden bench, in the shade of a rather splendid tree, sat two elderly, grey-haired men. In typically civil fashion, they shuffled a bit closer together to give me room to sit and immediately switched to English so that I could follow the discussion. I was touched by their innate politeness and desire to include me, a stranger, in their world.

They continued their story, talking about a third man, an old friend of theirs.

One of them took up the tale:

“It was when I was visiting him at his house. He was telling me a wonderful story about something that had happened to him when he was a young man. But it was a long story and it was getting late, so we decided to leave the story there and I would return the next day to hear the rest.

“But when I got there the next day, this old friend of mine had died in the night.”

The old man fell silent.

His friend looked like he was about to speak, but just at that moment I was told that I could enter the meeting room to talk to the community leaders.

I was torn. On the one hand the community meeting was of tremendous importance, but on the other hand I desperately wanted to hear what the other old man had to say.

Fortunately, he spoke before I had to make the difficult decision.

“Eish. That’s not a good way to die ……. before you have told the end of your story.”

Walking across the dusty forecourt I pondered that homo sapiens should perhaps be reclassified. Homo narrans – the story-telling person seems much more descriptive.

Over eons we have branched away from the other animals, gaining the capability to listen to other people’s dreams, fears, joys, sorrows, desires and defeats – and they, in turn, can listen to ours.

Many people make the mistake of confusing information with knowledge. They are not the same thing.

Knowledge involves the interpretation of information.

Knowledge involves listening.

So … as story-telling creatures, and as long as we permit ourselves to be quiet for a while, now and then, the eternal narrative will continue.

Many words will be written on the wind, and in the sand, but story-telling will go on until the last human being stops listening.

Then we can send the great chronicle of humanity’s tale out into the endless universe.

Who knows ….. maybe someone is out there, and willing to listen.

 

The Beginning of the End?

The lifting of the moratorium on rhino horn trade raises more questions than answers.

A full bench in the high court unanimously made the ruling to overturn the moratorium in favour of a couple of “breeders”.

Are these members of the judiciary really so uninformed? Do they have any interest at all in the plight of our wildlife heritage?

Do they care?

One has to wonder how much money changed hands to arrive at a decision like this, a decision that is so blatantly wrong that there are few words to describe the injustice of an act like this.

The “breeder” stated way back in 1997 that rhinos would be bred to ensure the continuation of an iconic species. On good authority, I discovered that, in 1997, 30 rhinos were purchased at auction to be gathered at John Hume’s “farm”.

Now then – rhinos look after their young for some considerable time, up to 4 years, before mating again. For ease of calculation, let’s assume that all 30 rhino produced young, that all brought their young up successfully, and the original 30 were used to breed as often as possible. This would have brought the numbers up to about 135.

I know that some of the progeny would have gone on to breed, but let’s ignore that for the moment.

The breeding operation must have been successful beyond Hume’s wildest dreams as he apparently now has 1200 captive rhinos on his property. It is unknown as to how many his side-kick, Johan Kruger, has on his “farm”.

The original intention, apparently, was to produce a number of these animals to perpetuate and maintain rhino numbers in South Africa.

Yeah right.

If that was the case, why haven’t rhino been relocated to other parks, reserves and protected areas?

Why are they being bred in the first place?

For their horns.

The horns are removed regularly and stored. Rhino horns, unlike ivory, will regrow and can be “harvested” again from the same animal.

So why is this being done?

Why are there massive stocks of horn being kept by these individuals?

For money of course.

At an estimated $65 000 per kilogramme, it is an obscene amount of money being kept in the form of rhino horn.

Due to the moratorium, Hume and his mate, Kruger, could do nothing with them, hence the court application, which, tragically, was successful.

Lifting the moratorium only for domestic trade, when there is no local market for rhino horn, is another idiotic ruling. This of course will open the floodgates to illegal smuggling by the powerful crime syndicates and corrupt officials.

Once again South Africa is responsible for the criminal activity surrounding the trade. Once again, South Africa is seen as being totally uncaring. Once again, South Africa’s officialdom reaps the financial benefits.

The lifting of the ban will have disastrous consequences because there are not enough rhinos left on the planet, wild or captive, to supply even the smallest percentage of demand from the Asian countries.

Who would Hume and Kruger be selling their rhino horn to?

Hume also refers to his 1200 rhino as a “herd”. Well haven’t we all learned something new? That’s the first time that I have ever heard of a “herd” of rhinos.

A shocking, ill-informed decision from three men who should know better.

Judges Francis Legodi, Vivian Tlhapi and Myron Dewrance should hang their heads in shame.

And as for Hume and Kruger – there are no words to describe just how low these people have travelled in their quest for money at the expense of our African heritage.

I sincerely hope that the appeal to be launched by Minister Edna Molewa will be successful and fervently hope that she will carry this through and that it is not simply “hot air”.

This just in:

Please take a good look at the photo with this post, special attention to the rhinos’ horns. This is a photo of Mr. John Hume’s dehorned rhinos.

He is the largest private rhino farmer in the world with more than 1100 rhinos. He is also the major drive to get rhino horn trade legalized. NOW FOR THE QUESTIONS THAT WE WOULD LIKE HIM TO ANSWER:
1. Mr. Hume, you state in the mentioned article that you do not have one rhino on your farm with a horn. All are dehorned.

WHY THEN, IN THIS SAME ARTICLE, ARE YOU SO UPSET BECAUSE 4 OF YOUR RHINOS HAVE BEEN POACHED THE PREVIOUS WEEK? I put it to you Mr. Hume that dehorning did not stop the poachers. (“They came in here, shot two rhinos here and two here,” he said, pointing to a map of his ranch on the wall. “Three adult cows and one calf. Hacked off the horns and came out the same way. Security didn’t hear the shots. How the hell that’s possible I don’t know.”)
2. ISN’T IT TRUE MR. HUME THAT WITH DEHORNING, THEY CAN’T CUT THE HORN TOO SHORT OTHERWISE THE HORN WILL FAIL TO GROW OUT AGAIN, IT CAN ALSO CAUSE THE DEATH OF THE RHINO? I put it to you Mr. Hume, if you care to look at the photo of your own dehorned rhinos, there is enough horn left to spark a huge interest with the poachers. IN FACT: The largest and heaviest part of the horn is left.
3. MR HUME ISN’T IT TRUE THAT IN FACT 10 DEHORNED RHINOS HAVE BEEN POACHED ON YOUR PROPERTY IN A COUPLE OF MONTHS? DO YOU STILL BELIEVE DEHORNING WILL SAVE THEM? (“With the new killings, 10 rhinos had now been poached on Hume’s ranch over the prior year. In the yard outside his office sat half a dozen men, one of several groups Hume was subjecting to polygraphs to see if it was an inside job.”)
4. Mr. Hume, you state in this article that anyone who is opposed to dehorning is an enemy of your rhinos. WHY IS THAT MR. HUME, WHEN CLEARLY DEHORNING IS NOT TO YOUR RHINOS BENEFIT? I put it to you Mr, Hume that the dehorning is to the benefit of your own pocket. There is absolutely NO benefit in this for the rhino. (“Rhinos today are worth more dead than alive,” Hume said, adding that if trade were legalized, the animals would have more allies than ever. “Nobody would ever kill a rhino if he was getting money from the horn.” A smile spread across his face, and he cupped his hands together as if holding an imaginary prize: “It produces like a hen—and who the hell would kill the hen that lays the golden egg?”)
5. MR. HUME ISN’T IT TRUE THAT YOUR CURRENT STOCKPILE OF HORN, 4 TONS, WILL EARN YOU 40 MILLION USD? 560 MILLION RAND AT THE CURRENT EXCHANGE RATE? I put it to you Mr. Hume that you are your own rhinos sole enemy.
6. ISN’T IT TRUE MR. HUME THAT POISONING OF THE RHINO HORN WOULD HAVE STOPPED ALL POACHING ON YOUR FARM, BUT IT WOULD HAVE MADE THE HORN UNSELLABLE? Adam Welz, who represents South Africa for WildAid, a non-profit organization, that fights illegal wildlife trading, agrees: “The second you legalize it, you’re sending a very powerful message. You’re endorsing this product—and you’re immediately going to get a lot more people interested in buying it.”
7. ISN’T IT TRUE MR. HUME THAT POACHING WILL ESCULATE IF TRADE WAS LEGALIZED, FOR THE ABOVE MENTIONED REASONS BY ADAM WELZ? Your own misfortunes with poaching incidents is the proof that dehorning does not stop poachers.
8. WHY WOULD THAT STOP AFTER TRADE WAS LEGALIZED?
STOP LYING MR. JOHN HUME!!!

Dehorned rhino on Hume’s “farm”

Hunting

The thing about hunting is that the topic is so polarising that it prevents meaningful discourse between people who probably have more in common than they care to admit to. And, while the protagonists battle it out, the grim reapers continue to harvest Africa’s wildlife and other natural resources.
We humans tend to compartmentalise information to suit our personal requirements, and make enemies out of those who feel differently. We might agree on 99% of things, but the 1% apparently makes us enemies.
Let’s face it, we either hate Kendall Jones or Walter Palmer, or any number of other high-profile hunters, or we adore them – there is no middle ground. So the chatter around them tends to be angry, emotional, defensive and meaningless in the greater scheme of things – which is of course what they want: the more attention they can generate the higher they rank in the race for social media fame. And while we bolster their fame, the process of turning Africa’s incredible biodiversity into trophies, trinkets, medicine and lifestyle products continues apace. The enemies of conservation are well-resourced, focussed and not distracted by the chatter about who has the moral high ground.

I find myself discussing hunting with people from all walks of life. I make a point of speaking to hunters to try and understand their motivation. In my experience people are mostly either rabidly for or rabidly against hunting. This rabid focus results in an inability to see facts or opinions that are not directly in line of sight, and this kills the opportunity to learn from each other and work together towards a common goal.
Many of the NGOs that tend towards emotional campaigns and demand-side strategies to solicit donor funding are from the “developed” world, while many of the more practical approaches and supply-side campaigns come from within Africa itself. While some “developed” world protagonists call for tourism boycotts on African countries that offer trophy hunting, they tend to ignore the fact that it’s largely their fellow countrymen who are doing the hunting, and that hurting the tourism industry will remove livelihoods, reduce protected areas and drive more people and resources into hunting. Try explaining that to a rabid anti-hunting campaigner.

Tourism boycotts on countries that offer trophy hunting cause more harm than good.
Personally, I find the act of hunting for pleasure or trophies unconscionable and I find it sad that many trophy hunters resort to the default argument that killing animals is good for conservation. There are indeed examples where community-based hunting programs, in remote areas that are not suitable for tourism, do provide meaningful funding for communities and, ironically, do lead to the recovery of the targeted species (Namibia has a few such examples), but this is by no means the norm. And many trophy hunters get upset when it is suggested that these examples are few and far between and that the overall picture is not pretty.

One of the problems with hunting as a topic is that it’s a complex issue. People are by and large lazy, so little research is done outside of a narrow range of personal interests. There are so many types of hunting, such as subsistence hunting by communities on their own land; hunting on fenced private farms that choose wildlife over sheep; trophy hunting in unfenced areas near national parks; canned hunting and so on, and each has its own set of implications. And there are the moral/ethical considerations to weigh with the conservation implications.

In my view you shouldn’t lump all hunting debate into one pot and stir, you should rather try to understand each situation and then debate based on its merits. In that way you avoid generalising and insulting large groups of people (on both sides of the debate).

When intelligent probing questions result in insults, what chance does conservation stand?
I was invited to attend the preview of a rhino horn pro-trade documentary film, and to provide constructive feedback. The documentary was put together by a group of experienced, respected people (some of whom I know personally and have great respect for) and I was one of an audience of about 50. The documentary makes a passionate plea for CITES to permit the trade in rhino horn – and some of the content is compelling. Unfortunately the documentary came across to me as one-sided, with some claims being made that were rather ambitious and others that were simply not accurate.

For example, it claimed that Kenya’s wildlife has been decimated since the ban on trophy hunting in 1977, and that hunting is therefore essential for the survival of African wildlife. I stood up and pointed out that both Tanzania and Mozambique have ongoing hunting industries and yet their wildlife has also been decimated, therefore the attempt to position hunting as the cure for poaching was disingenuous and did not cater for the complexity of the situation.

I was hoping for intelligent debate, but sadly the panel of experts shied away from the issue, folding their arms and avoiding eye contact. Even the chairman tried to move me away from my question. It was awkward. I stood my ground and requested clarity on the issue.

A well-known hunter, who remained silent that evening, subsequently described me on social media as an “animal rightest” – I think he meant it as an insult. And therein lies the problem – when intelligent probing questions result in insults, censorship and cessation of discussions, what chance does conservation stand?

The only thing separating him and me in our respective pursuits was the act of killing.

In my discussions with hunters, I find that the reasons they commonly give for pursuing their passion just don’t add up as being exclusive to hunting. They relate to being outdoors, the bush-skills required, the thrill of being close to danger etc. – all of which I get in spades when I walk in remote areas and track wild animals to observe them up close. During one recent fireside discussion a hunter called me “ignorant and stupid” for doing all of that without a weapon – without any knowledge of my bush experience. When I suggested that the only thing separating him and me in our respective pursuits was the act of killing, he became defensive and insulting. But after a while he admitted that it was in fact the act of killing that gave him the ultimate rush, and that my strategy of bush walking without weapons just can’t measure up. I respect him for coming clean on that issue and suspect that it was a cathartic discussion for him – it certainly was for me.
On the other hand, in my discussions with anti-hunters, I have found that many of them have the same knee-jerk response and mentality. It seems impossible to get them to accept that there are examples where hunting does work to keep communities gainfully employed, relatively free from animal-human conflict and that the target species even recovers and grows in numbers. The anti-hunting lobby seems to rely largely on emotion to win votes, and contradicting facts seem to be an inconvenience.

Lets take on the threats as a united force and face the real enemies.
It’s a complex situation, but the facts deserve to be taken into account. The Kruger National Park, South Africa’s flagship conservation and tourism draw-card, is a classic example of how complex the situation is, but the facts are compelling. Afrikaner “Voortrekkers” moved into the Kruger area in the mid 1800’s, utilising the wildlife to survive – there seemed to be no limit to the available wildlife. The arrival of gold prospectors also put pressure on wildlife, with active trade in horns, tusks, skin and meat, and the arrival of “sportsmen” (trophy hunters) from Europe finally resulted in the decimation of most of the wildlife by the early 1900’s. The government at the time tried to implement a series of laws to regulate hunting, none of which were successful. Eventually a number of game reserves were proclaimed, the beginnings of what is now the Kruger National Park.

Today many nearby farms and reserves offer hunting, even some that are fenced into the greater Kruger and recognised as tourism brands. Much of the Kruger wildlife can migrate into these areas, putting them at risk, but not as much risk as they face on cattle and citrus farms where there is little tolerance for wild animals.

And so the Kruger area has recovered from historical plunder and there is an uneasy truce between hunting, tourism and conservation. There are examples of foul play, but broadly the system works and it stands as an example of how things can progress if different groups co-operate for a common good.
My parting thought is to challenge you to get involved in the debate. Whatever your views please try to respect others and their opinions and harness your emotions to fuel your energy and not to override your common sense. Those of you engaged in hunting, do your best to rid your circles of abuse and illegal practices. Let’s take on the threats to Africa’s biodiversity and wild areas as a combined, united force and face the real enemies.

Keep the passion.