A Zimbabwe park official has warned people against approaching elephants after a man was reportedly trampled to death whilst taking a photo with one of the animals.

The elephant involved in the incident was shot dead by rangers following the fatality, according to Zimbabwe news outlets.
Another person is said to be in hospital with injuries.

The attack took place outside the Zimbabwe city of Kwekwe, according to local newspaper The Chronicle.
The news outlet said the man, whose name has not been disclosed, reportedly died after being dragged and trampled by the animal.

He was said to have been “taking selfies” with it, Tinashe Farawo, a spokesman for the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority (Zimparks) said.

Farawo added, per The Chronicle: “Communities are urged to stay away from the animals and minimise close contact with the animals.

“It is very unfortunate that we have lost life unnecessarily as it could have been avoided.”

The spokesman said park officials are on the ground working with communities so that “no-one provokes the animals”,
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The spokesman also highlighted another incident in which an elephant was shot dead as it was seen approaching a residential area in Kwekwe.

The issue of human-elephant conflict in Zimbabwe is one that Farawo has spoken out about recently.
The country has one of the largest elephant populations in the world, behind Botswana.

According to the African Wildlife Foundation, Zimparks reported 20 human deaths due to elephants between January and October 2019. These human deaths often result in elephants being killed by community members.

In March this year, the African forest elephant and African savanna elephant became listed as Critically Endangered and Endangered, respectively, under the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Prior to that update both types had been treated as a single species under the vulnerable classification system.
However, Farawo maintains that Zimbabwe is overpopulated with elephants despite concerns about Africa’s elephant population more widely, he told Al Jazeera in June.

Officials in the region announced they were going to sell the rights to shoot as many as 500 elephants this year because of declining tourism revenue amid the COVID pandemic.

But Simiso Mlevu, a spokeswoman for the Center for Natural Resource Governance in Zimbabwe, told CNN the plan was “appalling” and feared the practice “escalates human-wildlife conflicts”.

This is in addition to reports that officials are considering a mass cull to control numbers, according to “Al Jazeera”.

Farawo told the outlet that other options, such as relocating elephants, were hampered by a lack of money from the country’s government.

https://www.newsweek.com/elephant-kills-man-taking-selfies-unfortunate-incident-zimbabwe-africa-1624492

And I mean…“It is very unfortunate that we lost lives unnecessarily as it could have been avoided.”
I mean that too, and by that I mean the elephant life.

If the elephant population is controlled by human hands through extermination, hunting and eviction from their habitat, then it is fair for an elephant to reduce the human population, the cause of his misery, in the same way.

Zimbabwe’s Wildlife Agency plans to sell the right to shoot 500 elephants this year.
Is it unfortunate too, Tinashe Farawo?
Apparently not, it is business with the live of others who have no rights.

The hunting rights for the elephants are between 10,000 and 70,000 US dollars, depending on the size of the animal.
The hunting season starts in April and lasts until October when the rainy season begins.
Both Botswana and Zimbabwe get most of their hunting tourists from the United States, who pay for the privilege of taking their tusks home as trophies.

Hopefully we will read back soon about several “selfies” human-victims in the press until the end of October.

My best regards to all, Venus

Hi all – 2000hrs GMT 8/9

I started to write a post re Geronimo and the (Defra organised) unnecessary badger cull demo in London today, but there are already counter claims from Defra about Geronimo not testing positive for bTB.

Probably a face saving, and job saving exercise by those who claim to know better than everyone else. Reputations, their Defra reputation is at stake.

I decided to halt and instead wait and see what the press have to say about it on 9/9/21.

So nothing more tonight as the scene is changing all the time.

Hopefully more tomorrow;

Regards Mark

Did you know that primates kept as pets often suffer from malnutrition, deformities and mental anguish?
In the U.S. alone, it is estimated that up to 15,000 primates are being kept as pets.

Unlike dogs and cats, apes and monkeys are not domesticated animals.
They belong in the wild with their mothers and family groups to develop normally and to live fulfilling, healthy lives

Social media enables illegal activity

We’ve all seen viral videos and images of pet primates. Although they may seem cute and we all know people who share these images, every one of these animals is a victim of a multimillion dollar industry founded on suffering.

Baby primates are torn away from their families, their teeth are ripped out, and after they’re sold online they may never see another member of their own species again.

These photos and videos need to be reported as cruelty.

Demand that Facebook and Google make it easier to report that videos and images featuring pet apes and monkeys are cruel.
Also ask them to remove all reported content featuring pet primates.

The Letter

To Mark Zuckerberg and Sundar Pichai,

“I am shocked and disappointed about how difficult it is to report posts featuring animal cruelty on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. I am even more appalled that posts containing animal exploitation remain on your social media sites even after they have been reported by concerned users.

While videos and images featuring wildlife as pets may appear cute or funny, they depict animals who are suffering.
Animals who are taken from the wild or ripped from their mothers days after birth.
Animals whose teeth have been ripped out and are suffering from health problems and psychological damage.

Sadly, apes and monkeys frequently feature in these posts. Due to their high level of intelligence and their similarities to humans, primates are popular as exotic pets.
The traits that make them desirable as pets are also the reasons why they should never be kept in captivity. Primates are highly social animals and need to be with their families to live happy and healthy lives. Keeping them as pets is depriving them of their basic needs.

I respectfully urge you to implement the following measures to show you do not condone the mistreatment of animals:

• Provide a clear way to let the users of your social media sites easily report content containing primates, and other wildlife, as animal cruelty.
• Take action when such content is reported, by removing content showing wildlife as pets.

I beg that you help to stop the horrendous pet trade and show you care about the suffering of animals”.

Will you help us get to 150,000 signatures to remove suffering apes and monkeys from social media?
Sign the letter and share it with animal lovers like you.

https://pasa.org/letter-to-end-social-media-support/

And I mean…Everything is offered on social networks.

Little is reported about the trafficking in monkeys as pets.
In contrast to the flourishing ivory business.
But this trade is a terrible global criminal enterprise that catches, sells, or kills billions of monkeys of all kinds when they can no longer be sold.
Typically, privately owned monkeys start biting and get aggressive or nervous and start screaming, then they are simply thrown away, resold, or killed.

In nature, monkeys live in large groups and are considered very social. But they are wild animals and not domesticated like cats or dogs.
So they are not used to living with people.

Monkeys are very active animals and want to move around. Since they run, climb and jump a lot in the wild, animal welfare is simply not possible.

Cute monkeys are also in demand as pets in Germany.
In the German-speaking area alone, over 2,400 monkeys were sold in 2016, including over 800 marmosets!

Wild animals on sale are mostly caught with nets or traps and thus wrested from their natural habitat.

Baby monkeys that are offered for sale are often taken away from their mothers early and sometimes brutally.
During transport, the animals often die due to a lack of space and ventilation, stress or insufficient care.

Primates are among the most traded mammals.
The number increases steadily every year.
According to a 2011 study, an estimated tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of live animals are traded each year.

The animal and nature conservation organization Pro Wildlife searched the Internet for offers for exotic species over a period of five years.
They found offers for more than 10,000 exotic mammals with a total value of over eight million euros.
The way the traders do their business with monkeys makes the mafia look like amateurs.

Our message-Don’t keep monkeys at home!
Humans cannot keep monkeys as pets in a species-appropriate way, they belong in the wild and not in your living room.

My best regards to all, Venus