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Difficult to hold out hope for Zimbabwe elephants and lions being shipped like so much coal off to China

Dozens of Cecil the Lions Being Shipped off to China along with Baby Elephants



In faraway Zimbabwe, when the veterinaries had to come to put down the family pets, because of widespread poverty, few outside the country noticed. The Western World never heard from animal rights activists until an American big game hunter dentist took down Cecil, the Lion, who now has his own Facebook page.
The screams of animal rights activists went up worldwide. In the aftermath of Cecil the Lion, we learn of reports that staff at Hwange National Park have been suddenly removed from their posts and replaced by Chinese staff and veterinaries. “It would appear that these new staff are preparing the departure of elephants and lions from Zimbabwe to China,” MEP Catherine Bearder laments in a letter to Ambassador Tadeous Tafirenyika Chifamba. (See attached letter)
“Last time we met back in February, I expressed concern regarding Zimbabwe’s decision to export animals out of Hwange National Park to Chinese zoos. As I have explained in the past, I am particularly concerned with the removal of young elephants from their natural habitats because their chances of survival are low at such a young age without their herds,” Bearder wrote. “It is deplorable that by allowing Chinese authorities to take over these delicate operations, Zimbabwe is derogating its duty of care by excluding local workers who are familiar with the animals and by now have developed a bonds [sic] with them. “I also understand that local media are being excluded from observing the situation on the ground which gives me real concern for the transparency of the operation. I would be very keen to hear your views on whether these reports are accurate.”

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Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe has been hard on animals, of both the domesticated and undomesticated kind. What pet lover could ever forget the 14-year-old Jack Russell terrier, who the world came to know as ‘Squeak’? “The body of Terry Ford, the tenth white farmer murdered by the Mugabe regime was found doubled up beside the gate of his home farmstead with his faithful dog curled next to him on March 19, 2002.  (Canada Free Press, Oct. 14, 2002)
“Even after his death Squeak refused to leave the side of his master, and was with him until authorities bundled the 55-year-old farmer into a tin coffin. “Squeak, who went everywhere with Terry Ford, was with him in the last desperate moments of his life as he was trying to leave his farm in a vehicle. “Ford also had two border collies taken by the SPCA and turned over to friends of the family. But it was Squeak who was allowed to follow the farmer’s coffin up the church aisle behind his girlfriend and family members at the funeral. Of the one thousand mourners at the funeral, including former Rhodesian President Ian Smith, Squeak remained on the lap of Ford’s girlfriend during the sermon. There reportedly wasn’t a dry eye when the devoted little terrier went up to sniff at the coffin before going off to the church garden. “Surely, Squeak, a sort of Greyfriar’s Bobby of Africa, deserves a special place in the recorded history of man’s best friend. It was the unforgettable Jack Russell terrier, which became the defining moment in the broken dreams and uprooted lives of countless farmers being forced off their land even to the present day. “The emotional upheaval of the Zimbabwe farmers and their families must be difficult to lay aside. Forced to flee the country of their birth, destitute and forlorn, the once lively animals of their home farmsteads become pictures to display on the mantels of new homes in far-flung countries. “The calendar has moved from March to October 2002, and the animals of Zimbabwe are still bringing home the full pathos of human suffering to the outside world. (Canada Free Press) “According to The Daily Telegraph, "Robert Gordon’s last task before leaving his native Zimbabwe will be the destruction of the first of 650 former guard dogs. "Dr. Gordon, 42, a veterinarian, is leaving for New Zealand, unable to take the strain of destroying family pets and horses any longer. For the past six months he has done little but put down the pets of fleeing white farmers. " ‘I worked in Cumbria (in England) last year during foot and mouth,’ he said. ‘This is worse. I have put down hundreds of family pets and hundreds of horses recently. Some families want to stay with their pets when I do it. Others can’t take it, and leave first.’ ‘I have nowhere to bury the animals as I was chased off my farm. So the farmers have to take the bodies away. Sometimes we put the horses down mine shafts. ‘I respect farmers who decide they have a final obligation to their animals, and put them down.’ " “The 650 guard dogs belonged to a security company in Banket, 70 km north of Harare, the capital, which employed more than 400 farm guards but closed its doors because of political unrest. “Gordon would rather use chemicals to put the animals down. Problem is the few vets left in Zimbabwe are putting down pets at such a rate, they have run out of chemicals. “After putting down the first 20 guard dogs, Gordon, who decided to leave his beloved Zimbabwe forever, said he just couldn’t take it anymore.” “There’s an eerie silence from the animal rights activists who run rampant in North America and Europe.”
Meanwhile, it is difficult to hold out hope for Zimbabwe elephants and lions being shipped like so much coal off to China, including MEP Bearder’s letter of lament to Ambassador Chifamba. Both, after all are under the auspices of the proverbial slow-as-molasses-moving European Parliament.


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Judi McLeod -- Bio and Archives -- Judi McLeod, Founder, Owner and Editor of Canada Free Press, is an award-winning journalist with more than 30 years’ experience in the print and online media. A former Toronto Sun columnist, she also worked for the Kingston Whig Standard. Her work has appeared throughout the ‘Net, including on Rush Limbaugh and Fox News.

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