ANTI-POACHING TOTAL WAR The exponential exploitation of a limited resource wont result in a gradual decline, but an abrupt end after an all-time high. This cannot be truer than when applied to the poaching of elephants and rhinos in Africa, as the featured diagram attests with brutal honesty. Those who are aware of the situation has only two options - do nothing or fight all out. For the latter, the former is not an option. Yesterday I posted [HIGH TECH ANTI-POACHING]. I have expanded it, and am reposting it below: A few days ago, I received an email from an activist in Vancouver asking me a question. Having thought about it, Ive decided to post both her question and my answer here for general discussion. Here is the question: [Hi Anthony, how are you? The last time I met you was during the shark fin ban campaign in the Lower Mainland, attending Counsel meetings at various Municipalities... [Last year, groups such as Elephanatics have organized in the Lower Mainland to bring attention to the ivory and rhino horn crisis, grassroots. The massacre that is happening and seemingly unstoppable is maddening, just as unbelievable is the complicity of some governments and countries who are in key positions to mitigate this crisis. We are witnessing extinction right before our eyes. To help determine how to proceed within the Lower Mainland, (BC, Canada) I wanted your thoughts and opinions on a few topics. I am aware of your crusade in Vancouvers Chinatown many years ago and the successful results of it. [Is illegal elephant ivory and rhino horn - namely sale, trade, shipment a problem in the Lower Mainland, especially Chinatown and Richmond? What are the most effective measures we can take here, AND, [your current thoughts on this disaster which has gone grassroots as governments, organization have not been able to successfully curtail let alone stop this atrocity. We understand the most important action is education and outreach especially in China as the major consumption is there, and groups such as Wildaid have once again enlisted highly visible, respected celebrities such as Yao Ming and Li Bingbing to bring attention to this matter and educate people. [I have known poaching has always been a problem but not aware of the extent of the problem until a few years ago - almost unbelievable and Conrads Heart of Darkness is ringing loud and clear as this catastrophe unfolds. [Again, your input is greatly appreciated, [I hope all is well and all the best in the new year. [Thank-you, [Cheryl] ---------------------------------------------------------- And here is my answer: ---------------------------------------------------------- Hi Cheryl, Thank you for your thoughtful letter and crucial question. First, about Vancouvers Chinatown and Richmond: Due in part to my Chinatown campaign back in 1995-1997, a new Canadian federal law was enacted in 1996 called WAPPRIITA (Wild Animals and Plants Protection Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act) which renders illegal buying, selling and possessing any item from animals of endangered species including tiger, bear (Asiatic), elephant (African and Asian) and rhino (African and Asian). Therefore, barring a black market, there is no trade in ivory and rhino horn in Canada. This of course does not mean that Canadians, and Americans and Europeans for that matter, should do nothing. So, what should they do? The smart thing. So, what is this smart thing? The first factor is that it should be pragmatic, i.e. it should be for saving animals lives and prevent species extinction, not for soothing human emotions. In fact, emotion, once aroused, should give way to logic, and logic should generate calculated action. One of the factors in the equation is time, and time is not on our side. It is a matter of so much to do, so little time. Why I went to India 1997-1999 was to address the supply side of the equation. When applied to tiger conservation, although I did succeed in Canada and have gone a distance in educating the public (of all races and cultures around the globe via mass media, e.g. the [Champion of the Bengal Tiger] documentary shown in 20 countries), I nonetheless had to go to India to help protect the tigers where they live. There was (still is) too few of them left, and too little remaining time to save them. In the case of the tiger, relying SOLY on education just wont cut it, because it is just too slow and the tiger just doesnt have the time. The same applies to todays elephant and rhino poaching situation. In my opinion the top priority should be DIRECT ANTI-POACHING IN THE FIELD. We do have a slim advantage, and that is new anti-poaching TECHNOLOGY (beyond the camera trap and radio collar), which includes drones, GPS, aerial heat-sensing capability, hidden remote sensors, direct or satellite-relayed radio reception and transmission, FPV (First Person View) remote-controlled flight, high definition aerial photography and videography, DNA mapping and high-tech communication equipment. motherboard.vice/blog/the-rise-of-anti-poaching-tech-heat-seeking-planes-drones-and-dna-mapping aljazeera/indepth/features/2013/01/2013117135422298209.html bbc/news/business-28132521 And I will add an anti-poaching technology of my own - ATTACK DRONES (capable of over 100 mph) use in combination with the extant by-and-large observation drones (slow). Anti-poaching in Africa is serious business, where anti-poaching personnel (e.g. rangers) are licensed to kill poachers (IMHO justifiably so in poaching of endangered species) in which context the application of Attack Drones should pose no moral or legal problem. Im in process of developing one such an integrated anti-poaching field system - at this stage on the drawing board. I will be needing help in more ways than one in the days and months to come. To fight for all life on Earth is the greatest and most just war we as a species have ever fought and will ever fight, AND OUGHT TO BE FOUGHT WITH ALL OUR MIGHT - go all out, by all means, in all haste, at all cost! Range country really should use their MILITARY on a large scale for this war, because obviously whatever theyve been doing using tiny special forces leaves much to be desired, and of course all countries should contribute, and all people should volunteer. This not an African war; it is a global war with no one exempt. In this total war, failure is not an option. Anthony Marr --------------------------------------------------- Anthony Marr founder of Heal Our Planet Earth (HOPE) Global Anti-Hunting Coalition (GAHC) author of OMNI-SCIENCE and the Human Destiny (2003) HOMO-SAPIENS Save Your Earth (2008) The Meaning of Life According to Anthony Marr (2014) The Fortunate and the Called-Upon (2014) ANTI-HUNTER Battle of the Century (to be published)
Posted on: Fri, 09 Jan 2015 18:03:36 +0000
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