African Safari Trophy Hunting: Africa's Last Frontier
– 5 min read
Earth Talk | Sep 12, 2024 | Written By Bouneith Inejnema Naba
Africa has become in many ways a place of duality or division; ethnic groups fight over differences rather than celebrating commonalities, colonial governments struggle for authenticity in the kingdoms of traditional kings and rulers, and traditional systems quietly withstand the pressures of the aggressive modern system. This double-Africa is also seen in a foreigner's perceptions of the continent; many people see Africa as the modern system wishes for it to be seen a dirty place of poverty, sickness, and suffering, and from where no great contribution comes. Meanwhile, other people see Africa as the Motherland of humanity, the place from which all knowledge and spirituality comes, and a place of wealth in all forms.
Yet somehow, there is also a common Africa, an undeniable Africa. This common Africa contains those things that one readily associates with the continent, regardless of his other perceptions. Lions, monkeys, and zebra; Ashanti, Yoruba, Massai; drums, beads, and cowrie shells - these are some of the things that everyone can identify. And let’s not forget the most obvious (yet least stated) associations: Black people and Slavery.
All modern educational systems teach about the African slave trade, albeit poorly. And of course, since those who hold the power in the modern system rewrite the history that is taught, it tends to be heavily biased and unfair in its account of events. Nonetheless, every student leaves the lessons on slavery carrying many different emotions and thoughts - he is saddened, angered, and perhaps ashamed, and he feels relief that slavery is over. The mainstream consensus is that the world has moved on, the abuse is no longer happening today, and people have learned and grown. We know how naive and wrong mainstream thought can be!
No, abuse and exploitation of Africa has not stopped or even slowed, it has merely changed from overt to covert actions. While it is true that people are no longer being shipped overseas like animals for chattel slavery, nations are being enslaved and indebted to powerful Western nations and organizations. While powerful nations no longer visibly steal human beings to use for their own purposes, these same nations are now stealing resources: phosphate, oil, gold, and countless natural resources.
Yes, stealing - stealing through exploitation, entrapment, and corruption.
The sad truth is that the White man's system is constantly exploiting Africa. The need to keep Africa under control of the modern system is great - after all, it is Africa that produced the most powerful civilization in history, and it is Africa that is truly rich. Now that the populations of this amazing continent have been stolen, colonized, and controlled, a new game for the white man's conquering spirit arises. It is trophy hunting.
When I was a little girl, I always dreamed of going on a safari. Oh, how I wanted to see the majestic lions, the graceful giraffes, the striped zebras, and the bouncing gazelle. imagined myself riding in a green jeep-like vehicle, our guide carefully driving through the bush, while the safari-goers waited anxiously with cameras in hand for a glimpse of the wild. I dreamed of the photos that one could capture on this adventure: the lion creeping in the grass, the giraffe munching on the greenest treetop leaves, the gazelle herds munching quietly.... but then, one day, I learned that not all safaris are the same...I learned that oftentimes, during the safaris across the great African bush, hunters go with the sole purpose of shooting and killing the magnificent beasts whom I had hoped to see. My heart broke.
Recently, a group of Initiates from The Earth Center visited West Africa as a part of The Earth Center's yearly pilgrimage home. During the trip, we visited a very hospitable and generous man in the city of Fada N'Gourma. Although we arrived, without notice, in the middle of the night, he graciously opened his home and gave us a room. The next morning, he spared no trouble in making sure that we were all fed properly - omelets (a luxury), coffee, and hot milk for the children. We periodically stopped to visit our hospitable friend - every time we were in Fada N'Gourma, we went to greet him, and every time we showed up unannounced at his doorstep, he made sure we were showered, fed, and taken care of.
This man was one of the most gracious hosts we encountered during our trip. His friendliness and gentleness know no bounds. One can imagine my shock, then, when he pulled out a photo album to share with the group. Expecting to find pictures of children and parents, ancestors and friends, I was appalled to see pictures of hunters posed happily over dead lions. Guns propped against a dead gazelle. Pages and pages of dead African wildlife, with their assassins posed happily near their carcasses. And, not surprisingly, the hunters were all white men.
Our friend was a safari leader, and the safari camp in which he worked was of the hunting variety. My shock was endless. As I paged through the photo albums, I studied the photos in awe. I had never seen anyone looking so happy to have killed something as these hunters...sometimes standing proudly by their kill with their wife and children. I looked at our friend, our gracious host, trying to mask my uneasiness. Perhaps he did not know that we advocate the preservation of life rather than the destruction of it. Perhaps he was truly proud of his job, of his participation in the destruction of African life. Could he see the shock written on my face, and if so, would he misinterpret it? Luckily, he did not have a chance to fully analyze my reaction, because Master Naba, the High Priest of The Earth Center Initiations and our pilgrimage leader, quickly entered into a discussion with our friend about his job.
Aside from a lecture about the preservation of life that Master Naba gently gave to his friend, we were able to get a brief glimpse into the mind of our new friend. It is a good job. It pays well. Jobs here are not easy to find. It supports his family and allows them to live comfortably. From what we learned from our friend, the government sets a limit on how many trophies can be taken of each animal during the year (although their numbers do not seem to account for the slow reproduction rate of the big game, such as lions). The hunter must only pay a sum of money (a percentage of which goes to the safari guide) to be taken by a specialist into the bush, infrared gun in hand, to hunt their unsuspecting prey. And so, it is with most hunting safari adventures.
"$2000 is what it costs to kill a lion here," he told us dryly. The white man comes, we take him to the bush, and he kills whatever he sees. A lion is $2000, but other animals are usually less," our friend explained. This price-per-animal is very common throughout hunting safari providers. Their offer is simple: come and stay in their lodges or camp and be led comfortably out in the bush with hunting specialists. Shoot what you will (except where there are in the case of big game, such as lions, always strict number limitations per season, and then pay the fee for your trophy. The basic safari fees stand, but your "trophy" is an additional cost, depending on what you are "lucky" enough to assassin.
A stuffed lion can be yours if you have the means to pay for it. For example, in Zimbabwe, the 2004 trophy prices were as follows, all shown in US dollars:
elephant bull 10,000
elephant tuskless 2,000
lion 4,500
lioness 2,200
leopard 2,800
buffalo bull 2,000
buffalo cow 800
crocodile 2,000
zebra 850
impala 200
warthog 250
hyena 250
baboon 200
Nambia's most recent prices are similar:
leopard 2,000
cheetah 2,000
lion 10,000
elephant 11,500
lioness 2,000
impala 300
crocodile 2,200
hippo 1,750
White men see it as the ultimate adventure (and, perhaps subconsciously, the "last frontier" of conquering Africa).
Bring down a great African beast and it proves you are the man - the strongest, luckiest, smartest, and toughest. But to the rest of the world, it proves only that you have not yet lost your desire to exploit, control, and destroy.
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