Truth To Power! « on: Today at 03:45:59 PM » Reply with quote This is from a Facebook page entitled: Game Animals of the Past and Present
For everyone that is/was "concerned" about the lion situation that has been blown out of proportion by social media. Read up. This is an email that my parents sent me. (They are in Africa right now). Many of you have read or heard the news of the collared lion that has been shot here in Africa. Greg and I are in Zimbabwe, hunting with clients, at the camp of the very man that is being accused of "slaughtering a protected lion". I would just like to clarify a few facts. Firstly, yes, the lion was collared but that does not mean protected the hunting concession we are on borders the park-- no fences, no gates, no wires. These animals are free to roam and cross into the areas surrounding the park at will. It is a given that when any animal is out of the designated boundaries of the park and in a hunting concession, it is fair game. Collared animals are shot by hunters once in a while and the law states that nothing has been done illegally, just that the collar is to be returned to the National Parks office. Secondly, this lion was not lured out of the park by guts being dragged or calls being made. There was an elephant carcass, that died of natural causes, 2 1/2 km out of the parks boundary. The Professional Hunter (PH) and his hunter had seen a lion on the carcass so set up a blind to hunt that evening. The collared lion was the one that came in. No one realized the animal was collared until after it was harvested. The collar was returned to Parks, as is the procedure. It is unfortunate that this lion is a frequently photographed one in the parks as I believe that is why it has made national news. That, and the fact that it has a name..... Cecil. Theo Bronkhorst has been threatened and dragged over the coals on this one. His family is being harassed and the Facebook comments have been horrendous. One in particular. "let me guess...this fed a village". Here's where I'd like to explain something. Feeding the village is a phrase that is always taken in the literal sense. Yes, the meat of any animal is shared with the people but it's more than that. Here's how it works. Every hunting concession has a native game scout appointed. This scout must accompany the PH and his hunters to be sure that nothing is shot that is not on quota.....quota meaning that only so many of one species can be taken during the year. This is recorded very officially in a ledger. Every animal has a trophy fee. This is divided up to the outfitter, the village and the government. The village gets their share of the meat. Now this is where Theo makes a difference. With the money, he has helped the people dig wells, pipe water and supplied tanks to their houses so they don't have to walk long distances to carry it. They have larger gardens now because of it, not to mention running water. He has built schools. He's helped put in solar panels so they have power. I have seen satellite dishes on some homes so I know they have tv. It is all this that is included in the phrase ' feed the village'. I believe so many people do not understand hunting. They only see killing. Without hunting there is no conservation. Theo and his family are conservationists. They are not poachers. Everything done in the taking of this lion was done with professionalism. The hunter was legally licensed, the outfitter/PH, Theo, was licensed to legally hunt in that area. It is disgusting to me how there is so much to-do about this one lion but nothing is said about the man who was killed just 2 nights ago by an elephant in the village of the scout who rides in the truck with us everyday. A human life was taken and it is not mentioned. We should be more concerned about Masugo and his family than Cecil. It is unfair that no one feels sorry for Masugo....nor for the hunter and PH that have been falsely accused of a crime they did not commit. Please share this with as many people as you can so the real story also gets revealed. It surprises us that organizations like Dallas Club and Safari Club International (SCI), who's slogan is 'first for hunters', have not become involved to investigate and stand behind a fellow hunter. Let us all, as hunters, stand together. Report to moderator Logged
If there is no quota for that particular property and they purposely set up to hunt a lion that they have seen then kill the lion, then, at least in my opinion that is a problem..
The hunt has been moved.
I will say it again, I have hunted Africa a half dozen times and never once, did I know, where we were, what quota's we had, or what, if any license we had. I relied solely on those around me to deal with these necessities.
If I am not mistaken, the lion shot by Dr. Palmer, was a subject of research for a US college. If this was so, maybe this is how/why this situation grew to the proportion that it did.
Anyway, I have been somewhat curious how all the hunting was going, in the surrounding areas, Zimbabwe in general since this fiasco expired. Also, is the PH in jail there in Zimbabwe, or is he still guiding hunters?
I would like to know the truth myself, not that it would matter for anyone, with the exception of being able to set straight others who may mention the situation, and hopefully in the process, educate them. But again, Mr. Palmer may have NEVER had a clue that he did anything wrong, and that is if he indeed did do something wrong, and I would tend to believe him after hunting there myself.
Oxford is the college with the on-going study.
And, with others firsthand experience with how things routinely work there, the fact a hi profile lion was shot and killed with no deniability for the one who might have approved a quota transfer, and money quite possibly being the defining variable in who does get quotas, I'm willing to bet bow hunting will never miss a beat in Zimbabwe. God Bless
