Target: President Mugabe
Goal: To encourage the reduction of poaching and put an end to poisoning of water holes.
Poaching in Zimbabwe is at an all time high despite the fact that wildlife is Zimbabwe’s main tourist attraction and provides much of the national revenue. In 2011, five of Zimbabwe’s most valued national parks were discovered with poisoned water holes by poachers killing 21 lions and other animals as well as nine elephants. These water holes are now contaminated indefinitely.
The five poisoned national parks are the first instances in the world of a new way of poaching by poison. It is also the first time ever that animals have been poisoned in a protected together. Not only does this harm endangered animals drinking at the water hole, it harms scavengers who feed off carcasses and potentially the local villagers who both use the water and hunt local animals.
On top of the recent poisonings, conservancies in Zimbabwe are also being willfully invaded by political force so politicians can have personal hunting or poaching grounds. Zimbabwe is currently in such political turmoil and conflict that the wilderness, despite it being a huge source of revenue, comes second. This poses a huge threat to hundreds of rare endangered animals whose only hope of survival. If these poachers go unpunished and this poisoning does not stop, it could become a world wide trend that would quickly eradicate thousands of species around the world. Put an end to poison poaching and encourage stricter protection laws within Zimbabwe for their national parks.
Dear President Mugabe,
Recently five of your most precious national parks were found with poisoned water holes and over 30 animals dead, all in the name of poaching. Despite the fact that Zimbabwe possesses some of the most valuable and rare species in the world, you continually use conservancies for your own personal hunting trips and you put the preservation of your wildlife second. Always.
To allow poachers to get away with one of the most inhumane instances not only damages already world valued animals, it runs the risk of encouraging more poachers to follow in their footsteps.
You are responsible for some of the most precious and shrinking animal species in the entire world. Wildlife and ecotourism is also responsible for Zimbabwe’s main tourism revenue. Encouraging stricter protection laws of your national parks would not only protect the wildlife, it would probably increase tourism revenue by several million per animal. It is time that Zimbabwe treated its endangered animals with the same respect and protection as the UN, WWF, and every other nation does. Prevent poisoning from ever happening again.
[Your Name Will Go Here]