For those who are interested in the facts regarding the elephant, that was inappropriately given the name “Voortrekker” to deliberately evoke emotions from the general public.
Please read the statement below from the Namibian Ministry of Environment and Tourism.
We are quick to judge and jump on the band wagon without having all the facts in hand. Spreading falls rumours to try and get personal financial gain, is a form of reverse conservation and does more damage to our wildlife than harvesting animals selectively for the benefit of the community and the species.
I’ve been personally involved with the conflict of the Western Arid Region Elephants for the last 20 years in the Kamanjab region and this includes several legally conducted hunts.
As I’m typing this my staff is busy installing an electric fence line in front of the lodge to keep my clients as well as my infrastructure safe from elephants raiding our gardens at night. Not only one but sometimes herds of between 80 to 100 in an evening.
Who is paying for this? Not the government no wildlife conservation group, no ill-informed reporter. The money comes from our Conservancy and the funds was generated through the hunts conducted in the area. The same money has reimbursed farmers and locals in the area for damages as well as several electrification projects over the last 20 years. Not to mention an intense tracking collar project to monitor movements and manage the numbers of elephants for research purposes. Again how much of this was funded by conservation groups and reporters. Zero!!
One statement I’m not afraid to make is that there would be no elephants in my part of the world if it was not for the monetary incentive that created a value for them. The farmers and locals would have killed them all. We now have a stable population of free roaming elephants on communal and commercial land.
Let the ill-informed, keyboard warriors and charity seeking reporters continue but please look at facts first before joining them in what can only be called exploitation of our Natural Resources for their own benefit. None of this will protect wildlife in real life Africa!
