The Sunday News
WESTERN organisations are making a killing from the death of Cecil the lion by luring individuals into donating large sums of money to what they claim to be Zimbabwe’s animal conservation programme. This comes amid revelations that hunters within the Gwayi conservancy recently met to discuss the matter of foreign hunters and further summoned researchers from the Oxford University-run Wildlife Conservation Research Unit to explain how their research will benefit Zimbabweans. The locals also challenged them on the ownership of intellectual rights to the research.
A website run by the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit shows that 162 fundraisers have raised over 550 000 pounds from over 12 000 donors using Cecil the lion. However, according to the website, only one Zimbabwean student will benefit from the funds.
“To bring a Zimbabwean student to study conservation in Oxford on our world-renowned Diploma course costs £15 000,” the website reads.
Sources who attended the Gwayi meeting revealed that they had resolved to summon the university’s head researcher Professor David Macdonald to clarify a number of issues regarding his research on Zimbabwean animals.
“We want them to explain how the issue of intellectual rights is handled because it is obvious that this research benefits them alone and when as a country we want to gain access to their research we will be forced to pay because they own the intellectual rights.
“Further, we noticed that these people are busy fundraising in the name of Cecil the lion but this money is not coming back to assist us as a nation in terms of animal conservation although they claim that the funds raised will eventually come. We have thus requested that Prof Macdonald must attend our next meeting on 2 October. In the last meeting, he sent in his juniors but we feel he has to come personally to clarify these issues,” said the source.
Sunday News managed to contact a Mr Makwehe, who reportedly chaired the meeting. He confirmed that they held an emergency meeting but declined to give details on what was discussed.
“Yes we held that meeting where a number of resolutions were reached but you will have to contact Zimparks officials as they are the best people to comment,” said Mr Makwehe.
A Gwayi conservancy operator, who attended the meeting said as members of the conservancy they were irked by the conduct of officials from Oxford University.
“The hunting of Cecil was just a tip of the iceberg, it exposed a lot of irregularities. While we appreciate their research, at the end of the day they own the intellectual rights to their research meaning they get the royalties off our own animals.
“The truth is that we have been milked for a long time but we weren’t realising that. Fortunately, they have exposed themselves with this Cecil matter. Just their interest raises a lot of questions,” he said.
He said it was essential to note that communities that were in every day contact with animals from Hwange National Park were not benefiting anything.
“The question that has to be asked is who are the people who help put out fires when there is a veld fire? Who are the people who take charge of the various sources of water for these very animals? When these questions are answered these people must come and then tell us who this conservation is benefitting,” he said.
An independent analyst and former Kusile rural district councillor — under which Gwayi conservancy falls — Mr Cont Mhlanga lambasted the Oxford University researchers saying they were being insincere in their conduct and were running a modified form of colonialisation.
“I have no problem that these people are studying our animals but the only problem is the exclusion of the local people. I stay in Lupane and I will tell you that these studied lions actually dine with our livestock but these so-called researchers have the audacity to come to our own backyard and research on these animals without including us.
“They are using their economic muscle to run these researches, then they go on to claim intellectual rights so that when our students want to access the research they have to part with close to $30 000, which benefits them not us,” said Mr Mhlanga.
He said it was disappointing that local universities did not have a say in any of the researches, which he said was a sign of neo-colonialism.
“It is a fact that these people initially stole our resources during the colonial era, now they want to continue doing so through such schemes. Right now they are busy fundraising in the name of our own animals; funds which won’t even reach us but will benefit them wherever they are,” said Mr Mhlanga.
A number of crowd-sourcing organisations have popped on the Internet with the alleged mandate of fundraising for animal conservation in the country, further claiming that the proceeds will be channeled back to Zimbabwe.
One of the fundraising campaigns (crowdrise.com/justiceforcecil) has raised as much as $70 309, purpotedly to counter the problem of “hunting in Africa”. Another fundraising scheme had by yesterday raised 126 979 pounds.
“As a team of world-class professionals, our equipment and operating costs, working under challenging conditions, is expensive. It costs approximately £150 000 per annum to maintain the lion project at its current level of excellence. We need to expand it in order to study and conserve lions over the entire landscape that spans western Zimbabwe, Botswana and Zambia. This will only be possible with donations.
“Each satellite collar costs about £1 500, with an annual fee to download the hourly locations from the satellite of £500, we need £20 000 per annum to keep our anti-poaching team in the field, cutting illegal snare wires. To bring a Zimbabwean student to study conservation in Oxford on our world-renowned Diploma course costs £15 000, we also need four wheel-drive vehicles, tyres for them, fuel to run them,” reads part of the call for donations by the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit.
Contacted for comment, Zimparks spokesperson Caroline Washaya-Moyo requested this reporter to forward the links of the organisations to determine the magnitude of the fundraising “scam”.
“The best people to comment on that matter will be these organisations but please can you forward the Internet link of these organisations so we can check whether there is anything illegal which they are doing,” she said.
