Attention
Mr Tamás Marghescu – Director General CIC
Mr Mark Little – President Dallas Safari Club
Re : Your document – Joint statement on South Africa’s captive bred lion shooting.
I have read the emails which passed between yourselves and Stephen Palos to which I do not want to comment. Nevertheless, every letter that I see passing between your hunter groups in America and Europe, and the South Africans, nobody makes any mention of the most fundamental difference between you all. And that is the nature of your wildlife cultures. And you never ever mention the fact that, as hunters and gentlemen, you should agree to respect and to honour each other’s cultures. In the 1980s, there was also no vacant land on which to accommodate the surviving numbers of wildlife. So, South African land owners said they would pay for the game recoveries if government would agree to give them ownership of the wildlife on their land. And that is what happened. And that is why the wildlife industry in South Africa became commercial. Our wildlife culture is commercial.
Over the last 30 years 10 000 new game ranches have been constructed and game stocks of all species have soared to 22 million. America’s wildlife culture is “anti-marketing hunting”. In America you can shoot a white-tailed deer, take the carcass home, and then eat it. Or you can give it away. But God help you if to are caught selling any part of it.
South Africa was forced to change direction drastically in the 1980s. When it was discovered that only 500 000 animals of all species had survived the first half of the 20 Century.
The Americans, however, still vilify South African hunters because they, say, we are all immoral. We are immoral because, they say, we “make money” out of our wildlife. When are they going to get real? Making money out of our wildlife has saved South African wildlife from extinction!
My biggest concern about CIC & Dallas is that you guys are believing all the guff that you are fed by “The Custodians” who are people who tore PHASA apart because the CBL lions were out competing the Custodian’s wild lion safari businesses in Tanzania. The breakup of PHASA was all about money.
The True Green Alliance (TGA) is standing here ready to escort you through the Wildlife Industry channels. Come and see for yourselves how game farming and hunting is done in South Africa in the modern day and age.
Ron Thomson. CEO TGA
