This is the most honest letter about wildlife management that I have ever read, and coming from Mr Thomson, it is virtually gospel. As a hunter in South Africa, it is with great regret that I have to say that elephant management has failed period. There are no exceptions. As I have written in a previous post, the so called conservationists aka the greenies have virtually spelled the death knell for countless species of trees and plants (never mind the severe loss of precious topsoil)with their seemingly unqualified attempts at stopping elephant culling as a management policy. The thought that moving elephant to less densely populated areas as a management measure further compounds the problem, by creating it's own problems in those areas. I don't know what it will take to make these people realise that we as humans have caused the problem in the first place, and therefore, it is our responsibility as custodians of our precious earth (never mind if we are hunters) to put measures in place to rectify these issues.

As we all know hunting provides the opportunity to generate much needed funds from the selective harvest of elephants, and are we all so blind, that we cannot see what a benefit the glut of protein would bring to the less fortunate communities in South Africa (let's not even get started on what it would mean to impoverished Zim). If the words of sages such as Mr Thomson are not heeded, it is very probable that there will be not areas for our favourite pachyderms to live in in the next 25 years....anywhere in Africa.

Yes the responsibility falls to hunters to help (as usual), but it is high time that like minded world based (not African) conservationists started putting pressure on our conservationists in order to facilitate change. Our lot have been cowed into submission by the greenies, and I doubt seriously that they have one ball between them, let alone a pair.

Regards.

Powdersmoke.

(sorry, but I get very angry with these ball less wonders we have here.)