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by Hannes Wessels
In the face of
possibly the biggest media-inspired lynch mob in history let’s assume
those millions who have reached a guilty verdict in the best
traditions of mob-rule have their vengeance assuaged and the hangman
has his way with the timeous dispatch of Bronkhorst, Palmer and
Ndhlovu to the hell they so richly deserve. Screams of excitement
will be followed by cheers and the arduous task of retribution for
Cecil will have been completed. But what then? The reason I ask is
I’m not sure where that leaves us and I speak for the aforementioned
‘mob’ in assuming they do really care about conservation because
there remains some unfinished business and I’m anxious to know what
their next move is now that the neck-stretching is done.
I would simply
ask all those millions who recently spat vitriol and venom to work on
the assumption that at the same time ‘Cecil’ was hunted and killed
thousands of other wild animals across sub-Saharan Africa were
writhing in excruciating pain as they died slow, unheralded deaths in
wire snares. Many others were walking wounded having been shot with
light calibre weapons, home-made shotguns and poisoned arrows.
Regrettably, in
Africa, only a small portion of the remaining wildlife estate is
policed with significant rigour. The rest is open to illegal hunting.
Thousands of poachers kill far more prolifically and cruelly than
Doctor Palmer every single day of the year. But the problem for the
media attack-dogs is these crimes against nature don’t fit their
beloved narrative; they are not easy targets and they are not wealthy
Americans or portly Afrikaaners with beer-bellies, and so they are
excused exposure or vilification. And because their conduct is so
quickly forgiven by the media and their followers, there is little or
no hope for wildlife in Africa. Believe me, if lynching Bronkhorst,
Palmer and Ndhlovu provided a solution, I’d be bringing the rope but
it does not. In fact it will exacerbate a dire situation.
The reason has
been touched on above. Most parks and game areas are poorly
protected. Africa is the home of atrocious governance, abuse of power
and rampant corruption. Within these benighted countries many
wildlife areas are not suitable for photographic tourism. There are a
variety of reasons including security; some areas are within or on
the fringes of conflict areas. Some do not have the volume of game or
species- variety to make them attractive to conventional tourists and
some are simply too difficult and expensive to access. It is these
places that in most cases have no protection. The only people
prepared to fill that void are the professional safari hunters. They
in turn are the only people likely to provide the game any
protection.
In my experience,
most professional hunters care
deeply about the game they hunt. And even if they don’t,
they have a vested commercial interest in protecting the resource.
The only way they can remain financially viable and engage in the
prevention of uncontrolled slaughter is if people like Doctor Palmer
go hunting and pay the big prices big game hunting demands. On the
back of the ‘Cecil’ debacle, the future of safari hunting is bleak
and sadly, so too is the future of wildlife.
In one such area
my friend Darrell runs a privately owned estate. The elephant and
much of the game in the adjacent national park have been almost wiped
out by poachers. Much of that game has fled to his property seeking
sanctuary. He’s fighting a lonely and dangerous battle to respond
adequately. With few photographic tourists willing to visit him, his
only means of breaking even is through running some carefully
controlled hunting safaris which provide the money to soldier on.
When the foreign hunters go, so will he, closely followed by the
animals he risks his life to defend.
For those who
actually want to do something other than make a noise there are no
shortage of challenges. Chinese-sponsored gangs, well armed with
heavy rifles and automatic weapons are presently killing elephant at
an unprecedented rate. Recently, elephant-rich areas of Tanzania,
Mozambique and Zambia have been all but wiped out. The demand
for lion and leopard bones from the far-east is at an all-time high
putting a premium on big cats. Meat hunters are rapidly reducing the
antelope and buffalo herds throughout Africa. For many of these
animals the safari-hunters were their only hope.
So my question to
all the outraged loudmouths out there baying for the blood of
sport-hunters I ask what happens when you have had your way? Once
they are out the field can we expect you or your nominees to continue
the fight to save what is left from the poaching scourge presently
bedevilling this continent? They say actions speak louder than words
so let’s see some real action! And if you can’t put up then shut up!
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