The man who was trampled was no different. He, like many in South Africa’s Eastern Cape (the country’s poorest province) are surviving on an income of less than $3,700USD per year. One rhino horn could have paid for his entire family’s medical fees, sent his daughters to school, and greatly increased living stands for an entire year. One horn. One. With that in mind, it’s hardly surprising that he, like so many others, are being drawn into the poaching business.
Y'all are kinda disgusting celebrating the death of someone in a significantly worse socioeconomic position than you for their choice, whether it was a good or bad one. The director of the park even offered condolences to his family.
Blaming the poacher and celebrating their death is definitely a take on the situation, and everyone is entitled to their opinion. Coersion through violence to your loved ones or the intense poverty in the area the poacher that was eaten is from would be enough for me to act similarly, and everyone in these comments that thinks they'd go against their biology and starve to death first would probably do the same if it came down to it. They're fortunate enough to never experience it though. I'm simply advocating for the stance of the park director and the author that is deeply entrenched in both conservationism and the socioeconomic and criminal factors of the region.
Poaching is abhorrent, there’s no other way to view it. Therein lies the key: it’s how you view it and the intricacies within an incredibly complex weave of threads. The poorest communities deserve help. Instead of being shamed, they need to be incentivised. Educated, not threatened.
Not much chance to educate and assist them if they're in the act of butchering an animal infinitley rarer and more valuable than they are.
In ANY Animal Vs Poacher scenario I'm shamelessly rooting for the creature defending its own life. Dont care how poor the background or the context that got them to that point. If poachers had their way the world would be a worse place.
Me and others were in that spot. And trust me, there's always a choice.
I'm not celebrating that man's death, if that’s what you think. Of course nothing is just black and white. But choosing to harm or kill others always comes with a price.
And in this specific case, an innocent and critically endangered creature was the target. I'm just glad the rhino survived and that no one has managed to profit from a part of its body.
Wow I hate the author of the article. It's trying too hard to forgive the poachers. It's true that they are poor people living a difficult lives, not the kingpins etc... They're still the ones deciding to kill a noble and innocent animal that need to be protected to save the future of their whole specie for uncertain personal gains. I have little to no empathy for them. How people people lile that there is ? How many rhinos are left ? How many will be left if everyone like him do the same ?
Revenge killing a hyena and entering a national park to hunt protected specimens is put on the same level here.
0 empathy for animals overall, max empathy for poachers. Fuck the author
Actually it’s a common myth. Animal parts is big business. These people aren’t always poor or struggling. But rather just like drug dealers trying to make it rich on living beings
Yes they are degenerates. There’s other outcomes when faced even with abject suffering than to cause more suffering. People do the more difficult thing all the time. There’s no excuse for murdering endangered animals. Literally fuck them Id rather them starve. But they don’t, they get paid well.
If you’ve ever lived in the hood, you’d know that dealers have few options and opportunities. Working fast food in a neighborhood that is being gentrified with costs rising doesn’t work. Once you’re in the system (which happens when you’re poor), you aren’t getting a job with the mark of a criminal record. It’s a bad comparison.
The article also says the syndicates coerce locals into poaching for them with threats of violence to their families. These takes are completely delusional (not yours, but the ones acting like preservationism and conservationism are some moral high ground over someone in a situation they have the privilege of never experiencing.)
Well I wasn’t necessarily talking about American drug dealers just the concept that lots of people sell drugs to gain actual wealth like Cartels. Not trying to survive drug dealers. I’ve dealt drugs idc about drug dealers. Poachers are scum and worse is what I meant
Yeah they seem to be taking a "don't hate the player, hate the game" approach which is fucking stupid. It was either this or an article from the Sun, so I went with the lesser of two evils.
They're not in survival stage though. Like the article said, it's about "feeding their family for decades" and "sending their daughter to study".
That's the stage after survival, it's building for the futur. And if you're willing to trample others to build your futur you're a bad person, simple as that
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u/Fun-List5198 9h ago
Whenever I see videos of elephants, bears, whales I can't believe we belong to the same world with these wonderful creatures.