Surely it's time to stop?

I don't usually use my blog as a platform to talk about causes but there are some things which I just can't get my head around. Namley the cruel and violent killing of innocent and defenceless animals.

I'm sure you all know what has brought this on - the horrible killing of Cecil the lion by American dentist Walter Palmer. Reports say he lured the animal outside its protective zone and shot it point blank. The question that no one ever seems to answer is why? So you can have a trophy in your house? A dead animals head over your mantle piece? Something which says "look at clever little me - I can pick up a gun and shoot it at something which can't fight back - aren't I brave" the answer is no you are not - you are a coward.

Cecil the Lion

There seems to be a ridiculous trend of shooting animals, with an even more ridiculous argument following which is that the money paid to go on a hunt gets reinvested in conservation. No it doesn't. If you want to make a difference then use that money to build schools, help NGOs and educate young people, don't use it to decorate your living room with dead bodies. 

I really wish that this was an isolated incident, something that won't happen again, but the harsh reality is just that this is another story of a human feeling powerful because he or she possesses a gun. 

Satao the Elephant

Last year saw Kenya lose Satao, one of the most magnificent and majestic bull elephants in the country to poaching, the last male white rhino Sudan has to live under 24 hour protection so his life won't be taken and the number of wild tigers in Asia is reducing drastically day by day and it's all down to humans - down to us. 

Sudan the Rhino

At this rate the facts are simple - in 15 years we won't have elephants in the wild anymore, a few more years and the savannas and plains will be empty, forests and grasslands silent and the concept of going on safari a mere memory held by our parents and grandparents. Our idea of seeing animals in the wild will be a trip to the zoo or the aquarium and we will be the ones who suffer, the ones who see the destruction and the ones who could have prevented it. 

This video always makes people think: 

Surely it's time to stop...to stop celebrating this, to stop allowing it and first and formost to stop thinking that this is ok. So stand up and do your bit, sign a petition, donate some money or simply spread the word - this has the end now. 

Expat Diaries Africa