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Mugabe's 'Noah's Ark' gift to Kim Jong Il sparks outrage
Robert Mugabe, right, is said to be giving two of every species in Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park to North Korea's Kim Jong Il.
The British conservation group Born Free has joined the outcry against a plan by Zimbabwe to ship a “Noah’s Ark” of wildlife, including two young elephants, to North Korea.
News reports last week said the animals, reportedly two of every species in Zimbabwe’s 14,600 square kilometer Hwange National Park, are to be a gift from Zimbawean President Robert Mugabe to his North Korean counterpart, Kim Jong Il.
“We can see no conservation benefit to these plans, and are concerned about the substantial threat to the welfare of the individual animals involved,” Born Free said in a statement on its website.
The group said the 18-month-old elephants are unlikely to fare well during the approximate 7,000 mile trip and afterward when they get to North Korea.
“Baby elephants normally continue to suckle from their mothers for 4 years, so removal at this young age could have a severe physical impact in terms of nutrition, immunity and other developmental issues. It is also certain to have a huge impact on the emotional and social development of the young animals,” the group’s statement said.
Other animals to be included in the transfer include black and white rhinos, cheetahs, lions, leopards, giraffes and zebras, according to news reports.
Johnny Rodrigues, head of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, said teams of trappers are working in the Hwange park around the clock to fulfill the Mugabe order, according to a report in The Zimbabwean newspaper. He said his group was trying to enlist international influence to block the transfer.
North Korea’s zoos do not meet international standards, he said.
Born Free agreed. “Our fear is that the facilities in North Korea would fall far short of even the most basic requirements for the physical and psychological well-being of the animals,” the organization said.
But according to a report from The Standard newspaper in Zimbabwe, the country’s parks chief, Vitalis Chadenga, said Zimbabwe is sending experts to North Korea to be sure the animals are properly cared for.
Good for North Korea...something to eat at last!!!!
WHAT DID SHE SAY??? THIS IS TOO BLEEDING FRUSTRATING!
Whatever her religious tyrade was, I'm sure it was rubbish – usually is from nutty fundamentalists! Ghandi once said you can tell the state of a nation by the way it treats its animals... so true in this case.
Who the hell does MUG-face think he is? To cause torment and suffering to (any, but especially) born-free animals is the worst kind of evil imaginable!
WHAT DID SHE SAY??? THIS IS TOO BLEEDING FRUSTRATING!
Whatever her religious tirade was, I'm sure it was rubbish – usually is from nutty fundamentalists! Ghandi once said you can tell the state of a nation by the way it treats its animals... so true in this case.
Who the hell does MUG-face think he is? To cause torment and suffering to (any, but especially) born-free animals is the worst kind of evil imaginable!
It's true, you can cook anything in a wok!
Guess it got deleted, haha these forums probably were never supposed to go over 500 posts
Thanks for the fun all, I made it to the 700 club 😀
Americans are the main ones to complain when we have destroyed our wildlife (and the people who protected it) long ago. We traded grass for concrete and yet we are so judgemental about African nations who have managed to maintain the most diverse animal life on the planet!
North Korea doesn't have the ability to feed it's own people, let alone exotic animals. They'll be on the menu for Kim almost immediately
Thank you very much Kudzi.
How disrespectfull insulting a man you don't know, about matters which don't conern you.This only shows that Mugabe is a better person than all of you.We know that your problem is not with the animals but its all about white farmers who had farms taken away from them.But the bottom line is its our land and we took it back period.Leave Zimbabwean matters to Zimbabweans.And what is so unusual about people relocating to SA? For your own information dozens of people are also migrating to Zim from other countries.
Mugabe is a despotic moron, like his counterpart.
Jong ILL does not even provide for his own people. My guess is the guy will make clothes out of these animals, fashion mogul that he is.
That is disgusting! Animals are not GIFTS you can decide to ship off!!!!
The article should read "Christina's comment sparks outrage"
how many blacks have kim killed–how many whites have mugabe killed? how many people and what kind of people have the u s killed hear and around the world?
if we treated humans as well as we treat animals the world would be a much better place. There should not be one cent spent on animals until every human child is taken care of. There are human children dying from lack of clean water!! and you give your money to shelter a freaking dog!!! Absurd!!!
Is this news ?