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Killing of Cecil was a blessing - prominent conservationist says
20 Aug 2015 at 11:30hrs | Views
Former Gwayi Valley Intensive Conservation Area chairperson in Matabeleland North Langton Masunda has said the killing of Cecil the Lion was a great blessing.
He said all the media hype on Cecil's death was unwarranted as Cecil's pride did much havoc in Dete.
Masunda said "at 13 years the lion is no longer dominant as breeding takes place from between seven and nine years'.
In an opinion article Masunda, said Cecil pride mauled two people in Dete last year without compensation.
"In Dete, parents lost their children to Cecil's kind and it was not news. How can such tragedies be relegated to the grapevine. Is it not the same territory that Cecil and family roamed?
"Three years ago, a lion was chased by hyenas after a kill and to satisfy his hunger jumped into the guard room to try and eat the guard who in turn shot him dead. Guess who cried? The lion researcher, I suppose for a research opportunity lost on Cecil's brother eating a black man.
"But it's how the media works. When a dog bites a man, it is natural but when a man bites a dog, it is news as in the case of Cecil. The Gwayi Conservancy farmers are your people and custodians of that resource on your behalf,".
He added, "There is no lion in Lupane or Hwange called Cecil. We do not know him or his brother Jericho," said Masunda.
"The information being peddled is not about Zimbabweans but gullible foreigners with no idea about a lion but have a romantic notion peddled by researchers like McDonald of The Lion King.
"Also, the law of the jungle is "kill all cubs to produce your own and diversify genes." Why are we preserving Cecil's cubs, if any, when he killed other cubs when he became the dominant male?
"The price of our wildlife is greatly distorted in favour of the middleman. We sell as rural district councils a lion for $12,000 and the middleman sells it in the case of Cecil, for $55,000! Cecil's killing was a blessing in disguise as we now know the proper value of our animals. Hopefully, my fellow Comrades won't get bogged down in the legality of the hunt but in the rich vein of information obtained in the aftermath of the killing of Cecil".
He said all the media hype on Cecil's death was unwarranted as Cecil's pride did much havoc in Dete.
Masunda said "at 13 years the lion is no longer dominant as breeding takes place from between seven and nine years'.
In an opinion article Masunda, said Cecil pride mauled two people in Dete last year without compensation.
"In Dete, parents lost their children to Cecil's kind and it was not news. How can such tragedies be relegated to the grapevine. Is it not the same territory that Cecil and family roamed?
"Three years ago, a lion was chased by hyenas after a kill and to satisfy his hunger jumped into the guard room to try and eat the guard who in turn shot him dead. Guess who cried? The lion researcher, I suppose for a research opportunity lost on Cecil's brother eating a black man.
"But it's how the media works. When a dog bites a man, it is natural but when a man bites a dog, it is news as in the case of Cecil. The Gwayi Conservancy farmers are your people and custodians of that resource on your behalf,".
He added, "There is no lion in Lupane or Hwange called Cecil. We do not know him or his brother Jericho," said Masunda.
"The information being peddled is not about Zimbabweans but gullible foreigners with no idea about a lion but have a romantic notion peddled by researchers like McDonald of The Lion King.
"Also, the law of the jungle is "kill all cubs to produce your own and diversify genes." Why are we preserving Cecil's cubs, if any, when he killed other cubs when he became the dominant male?
"The price of our wildlife is greatly distorted in favour of the middleman. We sell as rural district councils a lion for $12,000 and the middleman sells it in the case of Cecil, for $55,000! Cecil's killing was a blessing in disguise as we now know the proper value of our animals. Hopefully, my fellow Comrades won't get bogged down in the legality of the hunt but in the rich vein of information obtained in the aftermath of the killing of Cecil".
Source - Byo24News
