It appears as if in the future Zimbabwe will continue to face issues with trophy hunting and canned lion breeding. While we were there, Sarah seemed quite concerned with the expanse of the tourism use of lions. They are used to make money from birth to death, being handled as cubs to pose with visitors, then being used for lion walks, then being hunted in a pick-your-own animal hunt. It is disgusting to know that just like puppy mills in the US, the breeder animals are living in horrible conditions and are just constant producers. I continue to be shown the power that money has to drive people to be cruel as long as they gain from it. Learning about this topic was interesting, but I was not completely shocked to hear how the lions are used.
Even in my life, I feel that I have seen and heard about people posing with lion cubs and being around supposedly “tame” ones as part of a wildlife experience. Seeing that reaching my life to the point where I was not surprised to hear that these things are happening shows that they have become common and many lions are suffering. It is an even bigger issue because the size of the industry has made it an integral part of the Zimbabwean economy. The trophy hunting and wildlife interactions bring people to Zimbabwe to spend money which does benefit them overall. If these programs were to suddenly come to a halt, there would be many lions left without anywhere to go. It is unfortunate how the animals are suffering at the hands of humans, but it will take a well-developed plan in order to eliminate those issues without creating more.
I feel that this course and experience was very beneficial in preparing me for the future of my career. I have wanted to be a veterinarian for as long as I could remember, and all of my animal experiences continue to reinforce that for me. I feel lucky that I have not had any experience that has deterred me from pursuing this goal, and I have nothing but good things to say about my time spent in Zimbabwe. Since I have been home, many of my friends and family members have asked me about the trip and how it has made me feel going forward. Interacting with the animals that I would have never otherwise gotten so close to has provided me with a new passion for wildlife everywhere.
I feel such a sense of accomplishment from being involved in wildlife rehabilitation and release, as well as having a positive impact on the community. We were able to see this firsthand at Twala with the Tuesday dog feeding, as well as at Imire with the community visits to the primary and secondary schools. It is a great feeling to be able to offer assistance to others while connecting with the community. I also loved the experiential learning opportunities when we were able to dissect the cow and horse at Twala as well as the topics we discussed with the animals being right in front of us at Imire. We learn about the animal parts in our classes, but it is a much different experience being able to handle an animal that had just died and use problem-solving skills to help the farmers. I was happy to find that I was not uncomfortable in that situation and it was yet another confirmation that I want to go to vet school.
– Nicole Hassan
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