Don’t Wipe Out God’s Creation

ON October 6 2008 there was a discussion on the trophy hunting of the so-called desert elephants on the TV programme ’50/50′ As a former honorary nature conservator and senior game warden of Etosha, it makes me absolutely sick to realise that there are so many money-obsessed and warped people behind this rotten scheme.

In my opinion, this is once again a type of ‘Angola Boer syndrome’ raising its ugly head. The elephants and black and white rhino of the Kaokoveld were exterminated by the Dorslandtrekkers [Afrikaners from Angola] between the years 1880 to 1926.So much so that not one single white rhino was left.Just read Johan von Moltke’s book ‘Jagkonings en Veldsmanne’ [‘Hunter kings and woodsmen’] – the truth is shocking.The Owambo people were never conservationists either.They have always lived off the game of Etosha and continue to do so.Alive, these animals are a valuable asset to the country and bring in millions of dollars through tourism – in this way everyone can benefit from the revenue and not just a few avaricious, callous ‘professional hunters’, or rather elephant murderers.What has become of the supposed ‘big men’ of nature conservation of the past? What are they doing about this – or were they just salary earners who did not really have the country’s natural heritage at heart? It seems to me that all our hard work in the past has come to nothing – like the Book of Ecclesiastes puts it: “Vanity of vanities; all is vanity”.May God protect us and the beautiful animals from this evil.Love of God starts with love and respect for His creation.To kill the little bit of this creation that is still alive, proves that man is not yet ready for paradise.As Edmund Burke said: ‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is for good men to do nothing’.Kallie du Preez Via e-mail – Letter translated from Afrikaans – EdThe elephants and black and white rhino of the Kaokoveld were exterminated by the Dorslandtrekkers [Afrikaners from Angola] between the years 1880 to 1926.So much so that not one single white rhino was left.Just read Johan von Moltke’s book ‘Jagkonings en Veldsmanne’ [‘Hunter kings and woodsmen’] – the truth is shocking.The Owambo people were never conservationists either.They have always lived off the game of Etosha and continue to do so.Alive, these animals are a valuable asset to the country and bring in millions of dollars through tourism – in this way everyone can benefit from the revenue and not just a few avaricious, callous ‘professional hunters’, or rather elephant murderers.What has become of the supposed ‘big men’ of nature conservation of the past? What are they doing about this – or were they just salary earners who did not really have the country’s natural heritage at heart? It seems to me that all our hard work in the past has come to nothing – like the Book of Ecclesiastes puts it: “Vanity of vanities; all is vanity”.May God protect us and the beautiful animals from this evil.Love of God starts with love and respect for His creation.To kill the little bit of this creation that is still alive, proves that man is not yet ready for paradise.As Edmund Burke said: ‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is for good men to do nothing’.Kallie du Preez Via e-mail – Letter translated from Afrikaans – Ed