South African Government May Start
Slaughter of Elepants in 2009
In 2005, I worked in South Africa researching the so called claim of elephant overpopulation. The local conservationists I worked with had developed a successful contraception for the elephants on their reserve. When they offered it to the South African officials, they were asked "What's in it for us?" Many South Africans see elephants as economic commodities rather than the highly evolved sentient beings that they are. South Africa's Environmental Minister, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, represents South Africa's desire to make money off of elephant ivory, skin and meat.
I spent about 75 hours in a week driving around Kruger Park trying
to find the so called damage that the elephants were causing and
also looking for these huge herds. I found neither. Only a few
solitary bulls. Patrick Omondi, elephant official of the Kenya
Wildlife Service, told me he had the same experience.
Cynthia Moss, who has conducted the world's longest on going observation
of an elephant herd (over 35 years), told me: "Elephants will not eat themselves out of house and home." Rather, they will pull back on their birth rate. South Africa is on a propaganda campaign to get the world to support the slaughter of thousands of their Kruger Park elephants. Elephants are a rare treasure that belong to the world community. Unless we are content to accept a world for our grandchildren where the only elephant they will see is in a picture book, none of us should buy van Schalkwyk's justifications.
Below is a video of what happens when elephants are killed in
South Africa. Please have the courage to look. It
is only 29 seconds long... If video does not start, click here to view.
Elephant Slaughter House in Kruger National Park, S. Africa
The real reason South Africa wants to slaughter its elephants: money
from their meat, skin and tusks. | | Kristal
Hand Delivers Letters to Ministry of Environment & Tourism
Hundred's of letters were written by American school kids pleading
on behalf of elephants. On the eve of South Africa's
overturning their ban on elephant culling (May 1, 2008), Kristal
hand delivers the wishes of the next generation to have elephants
in their future. Each letter was rolled and tied with
a ribbon. |
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