A response to the article by BBC entitled, “POACHING THREATENS ZIMBABWE WILDLIFE”-BBC Thursday, October 02, 2003.

Date: Unknown

Source: ZANU PF homepage

Author: Anon

“THERE is a war raging in the Zimbabwean bush and the wildlife is loosing,” says the imperial mouth peace the BBC as it tried to make the world believe that there was something drastically wrong in that sector of the Zimbabwean life.

What they did not do, was to first of all pronounce the real reason for their grossly exaggerated interests in the Zimbabwean Zebras, Elephants, Kudus, Bucks, Leopards, Buffaloes and so on to the whole world.

When God created heaven and earth, and gave to each race its own corner of the land to inhabit, He did not allow others to destroy their own share of heritage so that they could move over and claim the shares of others.

In England He created the Bear, Hedgehog, Fox, Unicorn and many others for the Barbarian, Anglo-Saxon, Scottish, Welsh and Irish to feast on with their eyes and quench their appetites. In Europe he created the Bear, Horse, Tiger, Reindeer and many others that are now extinct. In Asia he created the Tiger, Elephant, Orangutan, Water buffalo, Panther and so on.

In the Americas He created the Moose, Buffalo, Anaconda, Horse, Skunk, Deer, Bear and a host of other unique species now extinct for the Red Indian to sample and use. Once again I hasten to say that to each continent God gave unique creatures both great and small for his subjects to look at and admire.

The problem, especially for Africa and indeed Zimbabwe comes when the British and their very own overgrown children the USA, Australia and Canada discovers that after having destroyed whatever God had created for those parts of the world that they stole from the original inhabitants, they still needed  to satisfy their appetites for flora and fauna like anybody else. They now see the answer to their barbaric destruction of nature in the well managed Zimbabwean and African wildlife conservancy which they now wish to make totally their own.

When the British crossed the Atlantic in that dreadful vessel, named “The Mayflower”, for the land now known as The USA, they found a well managed wild life system in place. They had driven most of the animals in their own land of birth to total extinction. But because of greed, total disrespect for other races and an amazing lack of shame they invaded and slaughtered both beast and man who dared stand in their way.

Tembe Yambika, a Comanche Red Indian tribal chief, describing life before the invasion of his country by the British, spoke as follows: “I was born upon the prairie, where the wind blew free and there was nothing to breath but the light of the sun. I was born where there were no enclosures and where everything drew a clean breath. I knew every stream between the Rio Grande and the Arkinson, and have hunted and lived over that country. I lived like my fathers before me and like them I lived happily”

The great warrior was lamenting the coming of the white man and the destruction of their natural resources especially in the case of the Buffalo, which they totally slaughtered in order to deprive the Native Red Indians of any source of sustenance.

In the words of General Philip Sherman in which he stated, “By destroying the Indian Commissary- for the sake of lasting peace, let them (the white man) kill, skin and sell until they have exterminated all the buffalo” The General was simply reinforcing the orders of the state leader, President Grant, who had earlier stated that, “ By destroying the great buffalo herds, white hunters would make the Indians  depend upon the government for food allotment and hence force them to move on to the reservations.” Nearly all the buffaloes of the Americas were exterminated by the white hunters whom the Red Indians called Washichus.

The president had assigned the Washichus to kill all the buffaloes and present as evidence that they had made a kill, their tongues, heads and tails for payment to be made. “The Washichus did not kill them to eat. They took only the hides to sell and sometimes only the tongues and sometimes they did not even take the tongues. They just killed and killed because they liked to do that.” Whikalk Dakota-Sioux

As sure as the coming of a new day, all the buffalo were totally destroyed by the white man. At the time of conquest of the Indians by the white man, there were about 10 million native Americans. By the end of the civil war the population of Red Indians had gone down to about half a million natives most having been annihilated together with their Buffalos by the invading whites. Despite the fact that diseases such as small pox, measles, tuberculosis wrecked havoc within the Indian communities, it was the annihilation of the buffalo that finally brought the Indians to their knees.

When everything now seemed lost after having made concession after concession, Indian chief Quanah Parker and the Comanches with the help of 700 Kiowas, Cheyennes and Arapaho warriors made a final stand against the buffalo hunters at Edobby Wall- Texas. The Indians were defeated as they were fighting a whole invading army with superior weaponry. They were forced to surrender.

Before the last stand by the Indians at Edobby Wall, another Great Warrior Chief Red Cloud of the Oglala Sioux Tribe who had been giving  concession after concession to the white man but kept receiving blame from them for wars ended up saying “The reports concerning us are all on one side. We have given you nearly all of our land and if we had anymore land to give we would be very happy to give it. We have nothing more. We want to raise our children and make them happy and prosperous, we ask you to help us.”

Another of his lamentations at the white mans treachery and destruction was when he said, “Friends, it has been our misfortune to welcome the white man. We have been deceived. He brought with him some shiny things that pleased the eye, he brought weapons more effective than our own. Above all he brought the spirit water that makes one forget old age, weakness and sorrow. But I wish to say to you that if you wish to posses these things for yourselves, you must begin anew and put away the wisdom of your fathers. When your house is built, your store-room filled, then look around for a neighbour whom you can take advantage of and seize all he has.”    Red Cloud  “Oglala Sioux”

The above situation which I believe is spine chilling to any person who might dare use their intellect, cannot be compared to the Zimbabwean scenario which the imperial mouth piece is trying to portray to the whole world.

Zimbabweans are so self respecting that they guard their heritage very jealously. This is the reason why when other nations have hunted their own animals to extinction, there is still a garden of Eden for all nature loving people the world over to come and satisfy their desires.

Is it not the former white farmers whom the BBC is trying to portray to the world as angels of this world, that are causing wanton destruction to the environment as they take retribution against newly resettled farmers by starting bush fires? By starting these fires, the former white farmers' aim would be to destroy the source of thatching grass that the new farmers desperately need for roofing their huts. Not only grass is burnt in the created infernos, but endangered species of trees, flowers, herbs, birds and then the very animals that they are purporting to be under threat of the Mugabe government.

If it is close to the border, such fires drive our animals into neighbouring countries causing losses amounting to billions of dollars to the country. This situation seems to be deliberate as they would then hunt them on the other side. Is the tactic being used against the Zimbabwean wildlife any different to the one that was used on the buffalo in the USA when the whites from Britain were trying to tame the Red Indian? Now that they want to see the animals is when they decide to make the African wildlife sanctuaries their very own private zoos.

The Zimbabweans are most capable of managing their wildlife without watchdogs from lands that have destroyed their own flora and fauna. It is most silly for the BBC reporter to imply that the African wild dog is also being killed. No African, I can dare to tell the world, eats a wild dog and to even imagine that an African can eat a wild dog is gross disrespect of African values.

Please BBC, do not go about spreading virtually useless lies to the uninformed as this only succeeds in creating fantasies in their minds. Zimbabwe, for your own information, is one of the few countries in the world in which one can criss-cross and never come across a person carrying a gun. It is whites who own guns and not the War Veterans as is implied in your fictitious report.

The writer wants people all over the world to believe that Zimbabweans and indeed Africa as a whole would be utilizing the land more if at all they were to use it for wildlife husbandry – what trash. They want us to believe that a single white farmer would be benefiting 30 black workers on average if they are to be left to do their own wildlife farming?

Lastly, I would like to know if all South Africans are employed, as the reporter seems to imply that all those that lost jobs in safari lodges and wildlife sanctuaries could end up finding salvation there.

All nature loving people the world over, should feel free and safe to come and see African animals in a well managed, friendly Zimbabwean atmosphere without fear of what Prophets of Doom are trying to portray as the current situation.