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Hunger taking horrific toll on Zim animals
The Star (SA)
September 01, 2007

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=31&art_id=vn20070901082431490C773985&set_id=

The widespread slaughter of wildlife, domestic pets being eaten and donkey meat passed off as beef - these are some of the effects of the chronic food shortages in Zimbabwe.

In its latest report, Glynis Vaughan, the chief inspector of the ZNSPCA, paints a grim picture of the fate of the country's wild and domestic animals, terming the past few months a "test of endurance" for its small team, also affected by basic food shortages.

"With the population getting hungrier and no food on the shelves to alleviate the situation, the inevitable result has been the first incident of a companion animal being eaten," she said.

The ZNSPCA had initiated an awareness campaign to educate the public on the "ethical and moral issues" regarding the killing and "consumption of our trusted companion animals. But in the face of starvation and the burgeoning number of stray and abandoned animals, the moral issues become far more complex and we should not be too hasty in our condemnations when people and animals are suffering equally," Vaughan said.

Draught animals, she said, had also joined the list of meat sources for humans, with the theft and slaughter of donkeys, which some unscrupulous individuals are selling as "beef" to desperate consumers.

"And once again the natural wildlife is now being hunted and poached all the more, to satisfy the hunger of our people."

The ZNSPCA, she said, had directed its member societies to suspend all rehoming activities for pets due to the unstable situation in the country.

"Our national rehoming policy is very strict to ensure the provision of lifelong care for any animal adopted. We cannot perform this task at present as the current shortages of food, water and the unstable climate will result in animals being starved or abandoned."

Vaughan said all surrendered animals and "animals past their pound time" would have to be euthanised.

"All animals in the country share the peril faced by domestic pets. The ZNSPCA is concerned for the future of livestock animals and wildlife in captivity. The vast shortages of stockfeed for livestock have serious repercussions," she said.

A lack of rain last season had compounded the problem as there was limited grazing for livestock.

"With the scarcity of fresh meat, the ZNSPCA is uncertain as to how the daily requirements of the carnivores [in captivity] are going to be met. Our concerns are that owners are going to look towards hunting the already depleting natural wildlife to feed the animals in their care, and elephants are not being excluded from the list of animals being targeted as a food source," she said.

In an article on the slaughter of wildlife in Zimbabwe, the UK's Daily Mail this week reported how 60 percent of the country's animals - including those in game reserves, nature conservancies and national parks - had been killed since President Robert Mugabe launched his controversial land reform programme in 2000.

The newspaper quoted Johnny Rodrigues, chairperson of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, as saying: "Many animals are being poached because there's no meat on the market. Rare species like the leopard, rhino, blue duiker, cheetah and African wild dog are being killed in numbers that could push some to the brink of extinction."

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