Posted on 01/10/2009 8:36:25 AM PST by ProCivitas
Zimbabwean soldiers are being given elephant meat for their rations, a wildlife campaigner has told the BBC. Jonny Rodrigues from the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force said that several soldiers had complained to him that was the only meat they were given. Zimbabwe is believed to have some 100,000 elephants - more than its parks can sustainably hold and its economy is in freefall. The defence ministry has not yet commented on the reports. Mr Rodrigues said that the use of elephant meat began last June but has recently increased. It is cheaper and easier to use elephant meat Jonny Rodrigues The ZimOnline website quoted an unnamed senior army officer in Harare as saying: "Soldiers started eating elephant meat last week." The officer said the meat was a welcome relief, with the website saying soldiers had previously only been given sadza (maize-meal porridge) to eat. Mr Rodrigues said that army contracts to supply beef to feed soldiers had been cancelled. "It is cheaper and easier to use elephant meat," he said. Zimbabwe's national parks have the capacity for 45,000 elephants and the population is culled to contain numbers. The economy is collapsing and soldiers have recently gone on the rampage in the capital, Harare, after being unable to withdraw their salaries in cash from banks. The pay of many civil servants is barely enough to pay for their transport to and from work, so most people survive by trading on the black market or on the money sent by relatives abroad. The army plays a key role in keeping President Robert Mugabe in power. It was accused of leading a campaign of violence against the opposition during last year's election run-off but this was denied by defence officials.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
Read 'When Elephants Weep' if y'all get the chance. Good fairly recent non-fiction book on animal behavior and personalities ... to at least Google and check a summary.
The socialist tyrant savage Mugabe needs to be removed harshly.
What else are they supposed to eat? Mugabe’s destroyed every other food supply.
mmm, tastes like chicken.
Maybe they are mistaken and it’s the Easter Bunnies being murdered for food? Murder and animals, an interesting new concept.
Does anyone know the truth when it comes to these wackos anymore?
Let them eat cake........if they can afford it.
Many that think nothing of the murder of babies will bleed themselves over the death of elephants.. WOT a COUNTRY!..
Elephants are fairly common in Zimbabwe because they followed a relatively free market model of elephant management until recently.
Villages were given ownership of the local elephants, and sold hunting licenses for many thousands of dollars. The elephants were valued and protected by the villagers, who would not allow poaching, because it destroyed the villagers property for very little return.
Yet ANOTHER Jimma Carter “Bonus.”
Hey, Jimma, thanks a pantload for DESTROYING the Ian Smith government in what USED to be Rhodesia, turning it from the breadbasket of Africa into a place of starvation and making way for Robert “Zimbabwe is MINE” Mugabe and his elephant eating thugs.
Anybody else notice that the Dimocrats seem to adore DESPOTS?
Three guesses as to what that means for the U.S. and the last two don’t count!
How do you eat an elephant?
Humans have been eating elephants for thousands of years. Take the politics out of this. As the article says, they have more elephants that the carrying capacity of their habitat. I don’t see a problem.
Mugabe should be hanged from the first acacia tree, but not because he feeds his soldiers elephant meat instead of beef.
Ping to whom it may concern.
Jimmy Carter’s Mugabe has worked out about as swell as giving Iran to the terrorists.
What a guy.
Nice twist on the punch line.
Thank Carter for Mugabe and all those he killed.
Nope, more like Bison.
Any spareribs from a pachyderm?
I’m very surprised they aren’t down to long pork yet.
Once the elephants and other wild game is gone, I wouldn’t want to be one of the lower tanking soldiers or a civilian anywhere near these guys.
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