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.
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u/smallpolk 6h ago
“The fifth was charged and trampled by an elephant, his body eaten by a pride of lions. Only his skull and torn trousers were found.”
Beautiful.