Wrote my letter; hope it makes an impact.
Here is a copy (sorry, I'm not very computer literate, so I will have to cut and paste).
Mr. Edward H. Bastian
Delta Airlines
P.O. Box 20706
Atlanta, GA 30320-6001
Dear Mr. Bastian,
It has recently come to my attention that there are some well meaing, but grossly misinformed, people that want you to stop the transport of legally taken big game trophies from South Africa. South African Airlines has already crumbled to the voice of these ignorant people, and now they are hoping that you do the same.
They feel that by preventing the transport of said trophies, that they are “saving” animals…..and nothing could be further from the truth! As I’m sure you are aware of, the best way to “save” something is to give it worth; to give it “value”. South Africa and Namibia have done just that with their vast expanses of wildlife. They have not only catered to the sport hunter, but the meat from those animals that are hunted are used by people on a continent where famine and hunger abound. We must ask ourselves this question: Why is it that the wildlife in countries such as Namibia and South Africa continue to thrive, while the animal populations in other countries (which ban hunting), are on the decline…..some of which are dangerously so! The reason is simple; those countries that have allowed hunting (and export of trophies) have put a “value” on a precious commodity that will ensure its survival for decades to come. They have given it “worth”; they have given it “value”.
If one looks historically at what has happened in Africa, you will see that when animal populations are allowed to run rampant and out of control, and there is no means to control it (i.e. hunting), then the whole species suffers and declines, whereas if a few of the older, more mature animals were to be harvested, the population as a whole, benefits greatly. One need only look at the countries that have imposed a ban on elephant hunting to protect “illegal ivory” from being trafficked. Those countries banned elephant hunting; the elephant populations grew and became a nuisance to farmers & others as they moved out of their normal areas in search of food. The animals then became a target of poachers, as they had no “worth” and huge sums of money could be had by selling the ivory illegally. And now that there were fewer animals to poach, because many succumbed to drought and starvation, the price went up on illegal ivory and even more poaching ensued, causing further endanger of extinction to those species.
One need not look far to see success stories were hunting and hunters actually preserved a species via hunting: the black buck antelope. Almost extinct in its native India and Pakistan, the black buck antelope was actually repopulated from hunting preserves in Texas in the United States. If I have my facts correct, there are more black buck antelope on ranches in Texas and other states than there are in their country of origin.
I am sure that as the head of such a larger corporation, such as Delta, you do quite a bit of research prior to making decisions which might affect your company. I urge you to do the same in this instance. Never in the history of the planet has sport hunting caused the extinction of a species. Market hunting, yes, but not sport hunting. And those species that market hunting affected, such wood ducks, canvasbacks, alligators, elk, and bison, were all brought back from the verge of extinction by the efforts of sportsmen and women…..not the likes of Ricky Gervais, PETA, or HSUS.
A final thought I would like to leave you with is this: There are a lot of people who say that they will not fly Delta if you continue to fly legally taken sport trophies into the U.S. Well, there are a lot of sportsmen and women out there who will no longer be flying with SAA because they will not fly our legally taken trophies back into the States. We value our trophies, and will not do business with a company that doesn’t respect our rights as sportsmen and women. I dare say, however, that I don’t think that there are many members of HSUS, PETA, or the Hollywood community that will line up to get on a SAA jet to show their support for their ban.
Thank you for your time, and please consider the evidence that I have offered you encourage you to continue flying legally taken hunting trophies into the United States.
Sincerely,
Frederick W. Jagow, R.N., B.S.N., C.C.P.
