Arab hunters in Niger...

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
1

Now that they have exterminated animal species on their own land, time to go out and wreck the agricultural lands of other people. These are legally protected animal species - if ordinary, poor people have restrictions and permits imposed upon them, the same should apply for foreign hunters… even those who are able to cough up $300,000 to hunt for gazelle. Imagine where that $300,000+ might be better put towards.

Arab hunters spark anger in Niger, BBC, 9 January 2003

Animal rights campaigners in Niger are protesting against the government’s decision to allow groups of visitors from the Gulf to hunt protected animal and bird species. They have lodged a formal complaint with the government, which has said it was paid $300,000 to allow the hunting of endangered species of gazelle and birds of prey.

A ban on hunting these species has been in force for a year. But government officials in Niger say the ban can be lifted temporarily if a waiver fee is paid.

The annual hunt launched in Niger last week has sparked off protests amongst the population and the local press. Ordinary people in the capital, Niamey, have expressed great anger at the government, who they accuse of imposing restrictions and hunting permits on the people of Niger, many of whom are very poor.

Royal parties from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have been hunting on a large scale. Environmentalists say the commercial hunting will soon lead to the massive destruction of animals in the regions of Tahoua and Agadez, in the north, and Diffa, in the far east of the country.

The Gulf princes have been using big-calibre guns and cargo planes to carry the booties and live game to their respective countries in spite of the restrictions on hunting in Niger, Ibrahim Sani, a spokesman for environmentalist party RSV Niima says.

The war-like hunting operations have given rise to vehement protests in Niger. In response to the criticism, a spokesman for the Ministry of animal resources and the environment, Abdou Mamane, said that the Arab guests had paid $300,000 to get carte blanche to hunt in Niger.

2

$300,000 buys a lot of animals-they can justifiably kill up to the amount they paid for.

3

$300,000 or $300,000,000 can't bring a species back from extermination.

4

**

:k:

5

I'm sorry but paying for something gives them the legal right to hunt there, esp since the Niger Govt obviously ok'd the deal-channel anger that way if you must, the Arabs are blameless here.

6

The Arabs may have had a legal right, but did they have a moral right? Just because they are stinking rich and there are poor people that want their money, are they allowed to exacerbate the extinction of certain species? The people of Niger have a right to be outraged at their government for this policy.

7

99% of the arab princes are morons. they either:

1.chase camels being ridden by slave children they bought from india, pakistan, somalia or some other country...
2.bring prostitutes from morocco, and call over their white friends for parties. with alcohol of course. and what type of party doesnt have a host who doesnt drink a bit too?
3.and now they hire private cargo planes to bring endangered animals to their country for the sole purpose of shooting them!

dam arab princes! hope they go extinct soon.

8

HSKhan, couldn’t agree more with your post.
(Would just modify the “bit” word in number 2 to restate “a lot”). Hope they go extinct real soon.

**

:k: :k:

9

Gulf royalty just never ceases to sicken me.

10

Moral right? :rotfl"

Animals are inferior to humans, its a simple business deal, in a nation where most the ppl are dying, they should not care about some wild animals who they are getting a great price per head for!

11

Animals may be "inferior" to humans, but nowhere in Islam does it sanction unnecessary killing of animals - particularly endangered species. If you insist on seeing it from a "pragmatic" point of view, those endangered animals could provide a source of revenue from eco-tourism - revenues the people of Niger might drastically benefit from if put towards the health and educational infrastructures.

There's a reason that we have endangered laws in every country - can't just pick up your gun in Canada and go hunting at whichever season pleases you. If restrictions are imposed upon the poor, ordinary folks of Niger, it applies as well to affluent, lazy sheikhs jetting from the Gulf to appease their $300,000 hobbies. Let me never hear again Arab princes bemoaning the state of the poor people of Palestine, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, ....

12

Those guys are just enjoying one of there lavish past times, its no different then some guy going to the ISS for a break.

If this was a Pakistani you'd all be saying :

"Yaar $300,000 is a lot of money"-they better make use of it!

And so on.

Dont unjustly pick on the Arabs, I care deeply for them.

13

Bit of a difference here, my friend. No one in this thread has yet to pick on “the Arabs”. :flower1:
What i have done, and i admit this happily, is picked on Arab princes and sheikhs who think they are above the law by virtue of being stinking rich. Perhaps to yourself and to others $300,000 might not seem like a lot to go on an out-of-town safari. Ask an Aids orphan in Pakistan, or an Afghan widow in Kandahar, though, and they might be better equipped with suggestions for where this $300,000 per trip, that each sheikh pays up for the fun of putting a bullet through an animal, might be put towards. Perhaps that Aids orphan would suggest an orphanage so that she doesn’t have to sleep on the streets anymore, vulnerable to being preyed upon by pedophiles and other freaks, and that widow would suggest a skills employment training workshop so that she is able to survive independently and with dignity. Build a mosque, fund an environmental sustainability programme somewhere in eastern Africa, develop a scholarship fund for orphaned girls in Rawalpindi, donate the 3 grand to the Edhi Foundation… the list is, literally, endless. What possibilities for sawaab.

Perhaps i am wrong, i am not certain, but it seems that paying $300,000 to go on one safari for the happiness of putting a bullet through an endangered animal’s neck, pales in comparison to helping an orphan or a widow. A better form of practicing jihad than driving animals to extinction.

14

You make some good points, but its there money-they can do as they please.

15

Arabs are uneducated and uncouth. Don't expect much more from them.

16

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by mo_best: *
You make some good points, but its there money-they can do as they please.
[/QUOTE]

Yesd they can do as they please with their money and we can crticise what they do with it which is the whole point of this thread. Why don't they go shooting Arabian horses instead? It's in their own backyard and they wouldn't even have to pay $300,000 for the privelege.

17

Race horses are expensive and valuable, they make money, often $100,000 in prize money per big race!

African Gazelles ect are hardly million dollar investments.

18

Ok, if Arabaian horses can’t be considered for financial reasons here’s some local animals which could be considered:

Main animals species
In addition to the captive populations of Arabian oryx and houbara bustard, there are animal collections which include red-necked ostrich Struthio camelus camelus, Arabian leopard Panthera pardus nimr, Nubian ibex Capra [ibex] nubiana, Persian onager Equus hemionus onager, hamadryas baboon Papio hamadryas, caracal Felis caracal, desert hare Lepus capensis, striped hyena Hyaena hyaena, sand cat Felis margarita, Arabian wolf Canis lupus, and some endemic bird species for possible future re-introductions.

taken from the NATIONAL WILDLIFE RESEARCH CENTER website of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

19

I think the government of Niger need to look more closely at laws and waiver fees, how long before an American pays 3,000,000 to hunt people in their country. Hey they're doing it in Iraq, ask the Kurds and Shiites driving brand new BMW's through the pock marked surface of a wasteland.

20

Thap, so true.

Xtreme, great job. That was extremely helpful and informative. Thank you. :k: