Caught napping

Perspective Stephen Mpofu
Zimbabwe was caught napping, which is tragic and inexcusable. That, for want of stronger words, is a probable indictment of the country’s wildlife policemen by angry Zimbabweans over the slaughter by cyanide poisoning of over 100 priceless elephants by poachers in the Hwange National Park in recent months, while those charged with protecting game snuggled under cozy blankets, probably dreaming for better perks. Or were the game rangers so understaffed they could not be stretched out, like elastic, to cover the entire area where the elephants and other wild animals range?

That the powers that be have had to scramble additional support staff to prevent further losses to the national herd of the Jumbos, is all very well. But the nation has suffered an irretrievable loss to a draw card for tourists as well as a fitting bequest to future generations.
That is tragically so as no mortal in this age has the spiritual power to prophesy and have the decomposing jumbo carcasses re-united with their hacked-off tasks and again roam their habitat in the same way as what happened to the scattered bones and flesh that had rotted away in the valley of that biblical scene.

As such, a paradigm shift in protecting game by the national parks and wildlife management is an imperative must, accompanied with a house-cleaning process that goes beyond the management of wildlife, to begin with. That game rangers stumbled on the carcasses of the poached elephants, and not on a single illegal hunter in the act, suggests a laissez-faire approach to protecting potentially endangered wildlife species, such as the elephant and the rhinos, not to mention the smaller but valuable animals still, that villagers poach for the pot instead of preserving them to reap Campfire benefits for all who live on the periphery of areas teeming with game.

Secondly, that a crate of ivory turned up in Dubai, The Arab Emirates, after being blued out of the country from Victoria Falls Airport through Harare International Airport is certainly a sad commentary on those responsible for over-seeing the freighting of goods destined for the outside world.

In the circumstances, is it beyond any possibility for the human being, say a notorious criminal, to be smuggled out of Zimbabwe and away from the reach of the law, in a crate equipped with an oxygen tank without authorities certifying the consignment as genuine? The mind boggles.

That some villagers have been arrested in connection with the use of cyanide to poison the water where the elephants drink suggests that greater danger looms for human beings and other animals, birds and livestock when the rains come down and the poisoned water flows away to flood areas further away from the watering holes, spreading the risk of cyanide poisoning more widely.

That the Zimbabweans in possession of cyanide were found having adopted such daring hunting tactics surely poses several questions that need to be answered to get down to the bottom of that sad development.

First are the Zimbabwean poachers now being investigated in this dangerous game alone, or does not anonymity mask off hideous and dangerous faces of some don or dons somewhere, whatever their nationality and however severe their love of dirty money?

Whatever  the case, the motive behind the cyanide poisoning saga should be ripped out of its hiding place, the dark recesses of human hearts, for instance.

Secondly just how on earth does anyone dole out such a dangerous chemical as cyanide, as though s/he were Santa Claus shelling out sweets to children lining up a street with their mouths watering?

The law should get down to the source of the cyanide used to poach jumbos to discover who gave the supplier such an audacious licence to put the dangerous chemical in the hands of otherwise innocent village folk.  Such a move will enable legislators to pass a law to strengthen the hand of courts in meting out punishment commensurate with the gravity of hunting with a poisonous chemical that does not easily break down to nullify its effects on human beings and other living organisms in water.

Having said all this, let us come down to the nitty-gritties of what ought now to be done as a way forward in forestalling future disasters at the hands of Zimbabwean poachers by themselves or with whomsoever they collude, attracted by lucrative markets for ivory known always to exist in the East and as a result of which countries that are endowed with abundant wildlife resources take strict measures to thwart any poaching activities rearing their ugly heads.

Communicologist Felix Moyo, the Nust, Bulawayo Director of information and public relations guru, has some very salient points to make that if pursued with appropriate vigour could revolutionise wildlife management not only at Hwange; other, far-flung national parks could adopt the measures with astounding results.

To begin with, Mr Moyo says that an effective educational campaign is necessary for villagers to be made aware of, and benefit from Campfire proceeds.

When that happens with the villagers knowing how poaching will deprive them of the rewards of protecting the wildlife with which they live, they will become effective policemen and policewomen of the country’s wildlife, ensuring that those among them driven by a propensity for cloak-and-dagger operations are apprehended and handed over to the authorities, or exposed for the law of the land to take its course.

But that is not all. Mr Moyo contends that environmental organisations must help spread the word countrywide about the dangers of working with such chemicals as cyanide that pose grievous danger to humans and animals and birds alike, not to mention creeping creatures.

Even more poignantly, Mr Moyo says that, instead of spending sleepless nights plotting how to overthrow governments, non-governmental organisations should also play a critical role in spreading awareness about the dangers that are bound in putting dangerous chemicals in the hands of irresponsible people. And come to think of it, might or might not Zimbabwe’s external enemies be involved in tarnishing the country’s image abroad by targeting wildlife to deal a lethal blow to the solar-plexus of Zimbabwe’s tourism industry?

All in all, the poisoning of elephants has rung alarm bells with a shrill that should get those concerned running all over the country to ensure that the rhino and other animal species are not targeted next in the heinous poaching act by poisoning.