Vegans Love Carnivores

Hello from the livestock/trophy hunting farm!  I had a rather uneventful move last Sunday to my new home (besides from seeing around 50 vultures sat on the gravel road on the way to the farm, which was a magical sight when they all took off as I drove closer!) and have unpacked and settled in very easily.  I guess I am pretty adept at moving now, having done it far too many times to count in the last 11 years!  The farm I’m staying on is a huge 24,000 working cattle ranch and trophy hunting reserve, with a side business in meat processing – just the ideal place for a vegan!  One might consider me a masochist…!  I guess they say, “know your enemy”.  Not that this farm treats the animals badly at all – far from it; the cattle graze free-range in large, wild camps.  They are antibiotic-, hormone-, and steroid-free; they are healthy, they are not killed by predators despite having both leopards and cheetahs on the farm, and they live harmoniously alongsid...

To add to the depth my research topic, I’m looking at other avenues to collect data.  This includes delving into the controversial world of trophy hunting.  Although many cannot see the appeal to trophy hunting (their question being “why kill an innocent wild animal for fun?”; my retort would be “why eat an innocent animal for gluttony?” ;-) ) it has been proven in many situations to protect wild habitat that would otherwise be converted into agriculture (and as my research is demonstrating, agriculture and wildlife rarely get along).  This habitat can be used by both trophy animals and other wildlife alike.  However, being that predators can’t tell the difference between a privately bought sable antelope for US$20,000 and a wild one, game managers often hate predators more than livestock farmers.  In fact, some have said that the worst enemy of the cheetah is not the sheep farmer, but the trophy hunting manager.  So this is why last week I decided to visi...

Since leaving CCF on Sunday, I moved into my temporary home on the outskirts of Otjiwarongo town centre with a lovely French lady called Monique.  She has a spacious bungalow with a swimming pool and beautiful garden that overlooks the bush beyond the house and a number of cute (but very timid) house cats.  I'm sure this will be the most luxurious accommodation I'll stay in during the next 7 months of being in Namibia! Monique's pretty house On my first full day in Otjiwarongo I decided to take a trip into town to visit a few places where I might bump into some farmers.  Little did I know what I was getting myself into!  Naively but confidently, I stumbled into a large agricultural store and went straight to the Manager's office to ask for some advice on finding farmers to talk to.  He said that I might like to attend the nearby Farmers Association meeting in a few weeks.  I thanked him, left, and went to look around the store. The view 20m from Mon...