- Joined
- Jan 28, 2003
- Messages
- 13,347
Hey lead,
Uhmm...Guess where the lions share of the money to pay those anti poaching guards comes from? HUNTING! Also guess how the habitat remains kept open. FEES FROM HUNTING!! The white rhino and black rhino remain on this planet today from the resources that are derived from hunters. South African game farmers (read professional hunting operations) are the ONLY reason we have a viable population of white and black rhinos left on the planet. PERIOD end of story. And they are the primary source of protection for rhinos as you read this.
The fees that pay for anti poaching units comes primarily from hunting. The areas that allow hunting have much fewer poachers because those areas derive money from sustainable use of the game animals in the area. This will come as a shock to you but try to understand. You can only sustainable hunt if there is a surplus of animals. PERIOD. And to maintain that surplus those animals must be carefully managed. In areas where they are not managed and do not provide money and security for the local people they are inevitably poached into extinction.
Kenya had 160,000 elephants on the day hunting was stopped in that country. Today there are between 16,000 and 20,000 left. The primary reason hunting was stopped in Kenya is that professional hunters were getting in the way of government backed commercial poachers. And professional hunters are the primary block between commercial poachers and crooked politicians in Africa today. Everywhere animal rights groups have succeeded in bribing politicians and stopping hunting, wildlife has suffered.
Do yourself a HUGE favor and look up elephant population numbers in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique and Tanzania. Those are all countries that allow hunting of elephant and carefully manage and provide protection to elephant.
Then have a look at the population numbers in Kenya, Sudan, Somalia, Uganda and Angola. All countries which used to have a thriving safari business but have stopped legal controlled carefully manged sport hunting.
Then look up elephant numbers in Botswana. Which until two years ago was a primary trophy elephant hunting destination. The president of Botswana at the behest of international animal rights groups has declared big game hunting on government land illegal. Lets revisit the population numbers in ten years and compare. The picture will not be rosy.
So while I understand that hunting pulls at your heart strings, you must understand that your emotionally driven misunderstanding of the situation is the kind of group think that is loving African and other fauna to death. You read that correct, the bleeding heart sappy National Geographic soccer mom crowd is the PRIMARY reason we are losing elephant and rhino to poachers at the rate that we are. If your uninformed opinions come to regulatory reality then you are causing these animals to lose the only protection they have.
Many people get confused at the difference between a commercial poacher and a professional hunter. Let me help you with your understanding here. A commercial poacher makes his living from killing any and every animal that is of value to him for it's byproducts. They are criminals and are often associated with international crime rings.
A professional hunter is in charge of a block of land known as a concession and hunts to strictly maintained rules and scientifically set quotas. His job is to conserve and support healthy populations of animals within his block. The quotas are set so as to cause no decrease below sustainable levels and no increase above sustainable levels within the block. If these numbers are not strictly adhered to then the block is closed down and the professional hunter no longer has a job or a business. Thus one of the professional hunters duties is to maintain an effective anti poaching unit to keep the poachers at bay. Without the protection of the professional hunter the poachers run rampant and the animals are quickly whipped out.
While I know it isn't politically correct and it is socially unpopular amongst the self impressed urban inlelligencia. Hunting is wildlife's number one ally. One must only take a look at our very own country to see what proper management of wildlife does for healthy populations. Hint...Theodore Roosevelt is a good placed to start.
Please wake up before it's to late. the problem with your way of thinking is that we do not live in a perfect world where if we declare an animal sacred an un huntable it will flourish and grow in population. The reality of the situation is that unprotected these animals will be whipped out by unscrupulous commercial poachers with the help of crooked politicians. The other undeniable truth is that professional carefully manged hunting are these animals last and best hope.
Uhmm...Guess where the lions share of the money to pay those anti poaching guards comes from? HUNTING! Also guess how the habitat remains kept open. FEES FROM HUNTING!! The white rhino and black rhino remain on this planet today from the resources that are derived from hunters. South African game farmers (read professional hunting operations) are the ONLY reason we have a viable population of white and black rhinos left on the planet. PERIOD end of story. And they are the primary source of protection for rhinos as you read this.
The fees that pay for anti poaching units comes primarily from hunting. The areas that allow hunting have much fewer poachers because those areas derive money from sustainable use of the game animals in the area. This will come as a shock to you but try to understand. You can only sustainable hunt if there is a surplus of animals. PERIOD. And to maintain that surplus those animals must be carefully managed. In areas where they are not managed and do not provide money and security for the local people they are inevitably poached into extinction.
Kenya had 160,000 elephants on the day hunting was stopped in that country. Today there are between 16,000 and 20,000 left. The primary reason hunting was stopped in Kenya is that professional hunters were getting in the way of government backed commercial poachers. And professional hunters are the primary block between commercial poachers and crooked politicians in Africa today. Everywhere animal rights groups have succeeded in bribing politicians and stopping hunting, wildlife has suffered.
Do yourself a HUGE favor and look up elephant population numbers in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique and Tanzania. Those are all countries that allow hunting of elephant and carefully manage and provide protection to elephant.
Then have a look at the population numbers in Kenya, Sudan, Somalia, Uganda and Angola. All countries which used to have a thriving safari business but have stopped legal controlled carefully manged sport hunting.
Then look up elephant numbers in Botswana. Which until two years ago was a primary trophy elephant hunting destination. The president of Botswana at the behest of international animal rights groups has declared big game hunting on government land illegal. Lets revisit the population numbers in ten years and compare. The picture will not be rosy.
So while I understand that hunting pulls at your heart strings, you must understand that your emotionally driven misunderstanding of the situation is the kind of group think that is loving African and other fauna to death. You read that correct, the bleeding heart sappy National Geographic soccer mom crowd is the PRIMARY reason we are losing elephant and rhino to poachers at the rate that we are. If your uninformed opinions come to regulatory reality then you are causing these animals to lose the only protection they have.
Many people get confused at the difference between a commercial poacher and a professional hunter. Let me help you with your understanding here. A commercial poacher makes his living from killing any and every animal that is of value to him for it's byproducts. They are criminals and are often associated with international crime rings.
A professional hunter is in charge of a block of land known as a concession and hunts to strictly maintained rules and scientifically set quotas. His job is to conserve and support healthy populations of animals within his block. The quotas are set so as to cause no decrease below sustainable levels and no increase above sustainable levels within the block. If these numbers are not strictly adhered to then the block is closed down and the professional hunter no longer has a job or a business. Thus one of the professional hunters duties is to maintain an effective anti poaching unit to keep the poachers at bay. Without the protection of the professional hunter the poachers run rampant and the animals are quickly whipped out.
While I know it isn't politically correct and it is socially unpopular amongst the self impressed urban inlelligencia. Hunting is wildlife's number one ally. One must only take a look at our very own country to see what proper management of wildlife does for healthy populations. Hint...Theodore Roosevelt is a good placed to start.
Please wake up before it's to late. the problem with your way of thinking is that we do not live in a perfect world where if we declare an animal sacred an un huntable it will flourish and grow in population. The reality of the situation is that unprotected these animals will be whipped out by unscrupulous commercial poachers with the help of crooked politicians. The other undeniable truth is that professional carefully manged hunting are these animals last and best hope.
