No time to save us?

HELGE DENKER WRITES:Namibian society is plagued by disparities. The appalling gap between rich and poor is the most glaring. There are many others, especially related to access to services and resources (health and education; housing, land and water). And there are jarring disparities in how the law treats the destruction of natural resources – depending on who is doing the destroying.Poaching has become one of the most publicised threats to Namibia’s wildlife. Pangolins have received global attention as the most-trafficked wild animals in the world, and get much law enforcement and media focus here in Namibia. As part of broad efforts to counter wildlife crime in our country, numerous people are also being arrested for poaching wild animals for meat, ranging from giraffe to aardvark.Yet there is a harsh disparity here. While rural residents with very limited means have in a number of cases been arrested for killing an aardvark to have meat to eat, “the owner or lessee of a farm or piece of land [. . .] may, if such farm or piece of land is enclosed with jackal-proof fencing, at any time and by any means whatsoever kill any antbear [aardvark] or honey badger found on such farm or piece of land” – as per outdated conservation legislation still in force.More glaringly still, significant numbers of pangolins are being killed by the electric fences erected on small-stock farms to keep out that most-hated of predators, the jackal – without anyone being charged or reprimanded. Conversely, those convicted of trying to sell a single pangolin via illicit trade have in extreme cases received jail sentences of over ten years, and fines of many hundreds of thousands of dollars.It’s much easier to vilify a rural resident attempting to obtain food and escape poverty, than it is a commercial farmer who justifies killing numerous aardvarks and pangolins (and a whole score of other wild animals) as needed measures to keep his livestock safe. The destruction of natural resources is condoned when it is “collateral damage” of commercial enterprise by those with wealth and power. When the have-nots seek to gain something from such resources, it is condemned as poaching.Of course there are many nuances. There are commercial farmers who understand that this is not about feel-good conservation, that we are living in times of unprecedented species loss and environmental degradation – driven to a big extent by large-scale agriculture. Many are attempting to find a balance between farming and conservation. At the same time, we can not simply ignore illegal acts, just because they are done by the poor. And there are hardened career criminals making big money from poaching. But none of that should absolve indiscriminate killing of protected species to maximise the profits of legal industries.Over the past few decades, electric fences have become standard for commercial sheep farmers in the Red Kalahari of southeastern Namibia. Several electric strands are strung (usually on both sides of a boundary fence) to keep jackals and caracals from creeping under or climbing over the fence. The low-strung wire is generally at a height of around 10 to 20 centimetres – deadly for tortoises and pangolins. Pangolins are bipedal. When they walk up to such a fence on their hind legs while exploring their territory, the low wire will touch them on the belly. The evolved protective reaction of the pangolin is to curl into a tight ball – around the wire that soon kills them. Tortoises will retract into their shell and stay still when a shock hits them – again causing death.I work amongst farming communities in many parts of Namibia. One farmer in the Red Kalahari told me that pangolins only get killed when the electric fence is first installed. Obviously – all pangolins whose range intercepts with the fence are soon killed. When no more pangolins are being killed, none are left (dead pangolins do not pass on an awareness of the dangers of electric fences to others). Estimates from South Africa indicate that at least 20 times as many pangolins are killed annually by electric fences as are killed by poachers. Anecdotal accounts from small-stock farming areas indicate that a similar ratio is likely in Namibia.The electric fence makes it sound impersonal – unfortunate but unavoidable collateral damage, like roadkill. But it is not. It is an active choice by the land user. And there is relatively simple mitigation – research has shown that raising the bottom electric strand to around 30 centimetres significantly reduces mortality amongst pangolins, tortoises and other small animals.The response of many farmers to livestock predation is neither well-informed nor rational. It is a deeply entrenched, emotional reaction. Attempting to create some awareness, I recently had two articles on pangolin conservation forwarded to a sheep farmer planning to install an electric fence. The angry response: “Ek het nie tyd om k*k te lees nie!” (I don’t have time to read crap!). I’d highlighted relevant sentences in red to minimise reading time; a half-dozen sentences would have given an overview of the problem (low-strung electric fences kill pangolins) and mitigation (raise the bottom strand to 30 centimetres).This is not an isolated attitude amongst commercial farmers in Namibia. The need to survive is readily touted – best out of the window of the brand new Land Cruiser. The need to survive is not considered when condemning the unemployed community member for attempting to sell a pangolin, or for killing an aardvark for the pot. The measures taken by many small-stock farmers to eradicate all wildlife deemed to cause damage are in any case utterly disproportionate. When scores of sheep die unprotected during a winter cold spell with rain, that is “the weather” (few farmers move their sheep into a protective shed). When a single lamb is killed by a jackal, all and sundry are mobilised to hunt it down.A recently published study into leopard predation of livestock on commercial farmland in central Namibia clearly shows that leopards feed mostly on natural prey wherever this is available, and do not become habitual livestock killers. Evidence from a farm in the Red Kalahari with abundant natural prey as well as commercial sheep production indicates that the same is true for jackals.If Namibia is serious about minimising impacts on threatened species like pangolin, rather than just arresting poachers, then urgent changes are needed – to attitudes, land-use practices, legislation and law enforcement.* Beste lesers, keuring vir die publikasie van WhatsApp, briewe en alle ander lesersbydraes berus by Republikein. Klagtes oor die diens van private besighede word eers aan die onderneming vir reaksie voorgelê. Die menings van ons lesers en rubriekskrywers verteenwoordig nie noodwendig die standpunt van Republikein nie. Republikein is ’n lid van die Redakteursforum van Namibië (EFN) en onderskryf die etiese kode vir die Namibiese media soos toegepas deur die media-ombudsman.

No time to save us?

Kommentaar

Republikein 2026-10-15

Meld asseblief aan om kommentaar te lewer

No time to save us?

Kommentaar

Republikein 2026-10-15

Meld asseblief aan om kommentaar te lewer

Intekening vereis om toegang tot inhoud te kry. ×

MELD AAN

Advertensie

Intekening vereis om toegang tot inhoud te kry.