Sheryleen Masuku
MORE than 22 000 people have signed a petition to put a stop on the operations at Charlton McCallum Hunting Safaris (CMS) in Mbire District, Mashonaland Central.
Following a recent incident of a baby elephant that was killed by two white men at the conservancy, animal activists used online site Change.org UK to highlight the plight of elephants at the hands of hunters.
The site, in 2016, managed to successfully spread alarm on Cecil the Lion incident at Hwange National Park.
The repeated calls to end trophy hunting at CMS as pushed by the online petition is thwarted by the continued human-wildlife conflicts.
Communal Areas Management Programme For Indigenous Resources,(CAMPFIRE)Zimbabwe director Charles Jonga said 15 people were trampled to death in Mbire District between 2011and 2020.
Jonga’s remarks came after a picture was released on social media platforms of a young elephant that was shot by the hunters at CMS.
Hunting safaris such as CMS have often been criticised by the anti-hunting international community.
The controversial image shows the two white middle aged men carrying guns standing next to a young dead elephant. This has heightened calls from the anti- hunting international community to put an end to hunting safari companies worldwide.
“The killing of the two elephants in Mbire is quite a few years old, not recent. I therefore don’t know what this current petition is about” said Jonga.
He expressed concerns over the safety of people living in Mbire District as the human wildlife conflict had claimed many lives.
“I hope the petitioners are aware that between 2011 and 2020, 15 people were trampled to death by elephants in Mbire and twelve people sustained permanent injuries”.
Zimbabwe is one of the few African countries that have defended its position on the sustainability of hunting as a conservation tool, highlighting that the contribution of hunting revenue to rural livelihoods is critical in the management of wildlife and mitigating human wildlife conflict.
CAMPFIRE has consistently urged the international community, conservationists, and all institutions interested in the protection of wildlife to respect the livelihood choices of African communities.
In 2014 CMS set up Dande Anti -Poaching Unit (DAPU).They have been funding the project which is also sponsored by a United States company called the Dallas Safari Club (DSC) Foundation.
The conservancy was awarded a DSC Foundation 2021 Outfitter of the Year Award, which has received criticism from people from the anti -hunting community due to the picture of the dead elephant.
In an exclusive interview with the Zambezi Times last week Wednesday, Director of DSC Foundation, Richard Cheatham, said:
“I understand that there was a dangerous situation that was created by the encounter with the two elephants that were shot and that the only option presented to address that was to kill the two elephants.
“The danger is that we have been focusing on a snap chat or photographs of a particular incident. That picture and the controversy that it has created in no way in my opinion diminishes the contributions that operators like CMS do. The work that they do is absolutely critical,” he said.
Several conservation workers and scouts funded by DAPU stand to lose their jobs in the Dande Safari Area if CMS is forced to shut its operations.
“These people that work for CMS are on the front lines of fighting poaching. No one else is doing that in the Dande North,” said Cheatham
Zimbabwe’s cash strapped government has been trying to lure international tourists back into the country as the Covid-19 global lockdowns hit the tourism industry.
A 24 day hunting expedition costs the rich adventurous international hunter US$124,628 at CMS. Other international companies fear that loss of conservation jobs will increase Zimbabwe’s deepening humanitarian crisis and poaching in rural areas such as Mbire.
The human wildlife conflict in Zimbabwe is a real threat to rural communities living close to wildlife conservation areas.
Campfire says it has documented over 139 deaths including school children since 2010 due to human wildlife conflict.
“Unfortunately what is depicted in those photographs happens from time to time,” said Cheatham.
“It just happened that those pictures were posted online and the controversial storm was ignited.”
CMS responded on its website on the issue.
The online petition was started in October 2021 by Joana Cavaco from Canada and is targeting 25 000 signatures. The petition is being made to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) an international animal rights organization in the UK which investigates cruelty to animals. The petitioners are calling on three other animal rights organisations, Animal Planet, International Animal Rescue, and World Wildlife Fund to investigate CMS.
