JV and THE BIG CATS

Newsletter 141
16/01/17

Lady Hunters

Hello Friends 

I have noticed that when a picture appears on Facebook with a Lady Hunter, the outrage mostly from women is extreme.  

Perhaps because women are the givers of life, that we cannot comprehend why they would want to kill a peaceful innocent animal like a giraffe or a majestic animal like a leopard.

Thousands of vitriolic messages poured forth when Melissa Bachman posed with a dead male lion which she shot in a canned lion hunt.

Even more for the blonde girl who appeared with the dead leopard draped over her shoulders.

However the most vitriolic appeared for the fat lady posing with the dead giraffe. 

Some of the comments are amazing (Parental Guidance is advised). 

I have tried to gauge the thought process and the anger behind these messages, but one leaves me stone cold. 

“I hope you get caught by a German and become the middle of a human centipede. Vile scum” Jo Whipwood

Am I missing something here. What do Germans have to do with “Lady Hunters”.

What is a human centipede. 

Like the serial killers that send anonymous letters to the police and the newspapers boasting of their murders, these hunters too thrive on the notoriety. 

To be described as a human centipede gives the “Lady Hunters” a great deal of pleasure. After all, no one else has ever been described that way.

“You piece of shit fat bitch. I hope you die the same way. Actually I hope it’s worse. Michelle Murphy”

“Leave our beautiful animals alone. Selfish bitch has just shot / murdered and all for a trophy around her bloody neck. Bitch, bitch, bitch. Yasmin Steward Brown.” 

“You are fucking sick rotten witch burn in hell. Debbie Ritchie” 

“Put a bullet in her fat, stupid head. Fatima Elliot” 

“Hopefully your arteries are clogging even more as I type this, you obviously morbidly obese turd. Avery Martin” 

“I have no words acidic enough to express my hatred for what is shown here. I wish I could rise above it, but I cant. I hope you die slowly bleeding from a gun shot. Julia Pasistu 

However to all of you who send in insulting remarks to these  “Lady Hunters”, be aware, that it is these comments that the “Lady Hunters” thrive on. The “Lady Hunters” are nobodies, they are losers, they have never achieved anything in their lives. The only way they can attract attention to themselves, is go and shoot with a gun or crossbow an innocent giraffe, a trapped lion or a tricked leopard that comes to their bait. 

This is their pathetic attempt at notoriety.

Tread Lightly On The Earth
JV

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The have and the have not’s: 

Recently I traveled to the home of Busi and Musa, Phumlani Mchunu’s wife and young son.( Phumlani saved my life in the tiger attack in 2012) 

The house is in a township called Ebony Park and is an extension of Thembisa Township one of the biggest townships in South Africa. 

Entering Ebony Park is like moving into another world. The roads are rutted, the sewerage flows into the street. The houses are corrugated iron (some roofs are plastic sheeting).

The GPS does not work because no roads have names and no houses have numbers. 

I stop to ask directions. Within minutes 20 people surround my vehicle. The sticker on the door of myself and Julie attracts immediate attention.

A voice from the crowd says, “JV I have seen you on television!”. Another voice proclaims Silent Hunter as his favorite film, another guy likes Swift and Silent.

Questions are fired rapidly from the growing band of onlookers. One guy proudly shows me his DSTV disc on his corrugated roof. Nat Geo Wild and Animal Planet are his favorite programs. 

However one thing is disconcerting. My vehicle is surrounded and they are looking into my car. The eyes of the guys talking to me, are not looking at me but past me, for anything lying exposed on the seat. It is not just disconcerting, it is freighting.

Most of the crowd are jobless. Almost all live on, or below the bread line. I am surprised that they have TV sets. 

So how do they earn a living? The answer is crime! 

Phumlani Mchunu was gunned down at night and his cell phone and cash were stolen. Life is cheap in the townships of South Africa. Literally thousands have died in this way. 

When I arrive at Busi’s house, all her relatives come forth to shake my hand. Woman hug me and ask that I thank all of you who supported the Musa Fund. It’s a humbling experience to say the least . 

I meet Musa for the first time, he is so young, so innocent.  

Myself and Busi hatch a plan. In 2018 Busi and Musa will move to Grahamstown and  Musa will receive an education from St. Andrews College. 

This will allow me to stay in touch with the college where my boys, Sean and Tao went to school. I will be able to follow Musa's sporting and academic career.

I am excited, the journey has begun.

I leave Ebony Park and head back to Sandton, one of the wealthiest suburbs in South Africa. Here high walls and razor wire and electric fences surround big mansions. Great wealth and great poverty operates side by side, a recipe for crime, hijacking, rape and murder. 

Any party that governs South Africa will face a huge problem of closing the gap between the rich and the poor.  

The population growth rate in the townships is rising rapidly, while the growth rate of the people in the luxury suburbs is rising slowly. 

Therefore poverty will expand and “The have not’s” will far outnumber the “Haves”. A time bomb is ticking.

Tread Lightly On The Earth
JV

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Only in Africa 

After 2 years of drought, scorching heat and gale force winds that blow the top soil away, we now have torrential rain and floods which also take the top soil away. 

Tiger Canyons is looking beautiful. Rivers are flowing, fountains are bubbling and everywhere and everything is green. 

The tigers and cheetah are contrasting against the green background making for beautiful images.

Wishing all our friends who support us, a happy and healthy 2017.

Tread Lightly On The Earth
JV

 

Expensive Cats

Manana the Hunter