'Let us hunt rare animals'
28/05/2006 22:19 - (SA)


Lindsay Barnes


Pietermaritzburg - Traditional healers must not be arrested for using protected animals in their muti and the government must allow them to access these animals to treat people who are dying.

This is the view of Sazi Mhlongo, chair of the Traditional Healers's Association of SA (Thasa).

It follows the recent court appearance of a sangoma and five others after police discovered the skins of various protected animals in the sangoma's house.

The skins included that of a lion, leopard, puff adder and water leguaan.

Police also discovered the large shell and intestines of a 60-year-old Giant Seychelles tortoise, worth an estimated R35 000.

Traditional healers use many different animals in their muti and where these creatures are not available in their tribal lands, they must be allowed access to them even in other areas.

If they are found only in protected areas, which tends to be the case with crocodiles, for instance, then the government and wildlife authorities must allow access, he said.

The sangoma and her trainees were charged in the Pietermaritzburg magistrate's court with the possession of, dealing in or handling of specially protected game suspected to have been hunted or acquired illegally.

"This is not acceptable," said a local traditional healer, who asked not to be identified.

"Izangoma must be given the right to use animals from protected areas in their muti.

"People's lives take precedence over those of animals, Mhlongo said.

"People are dying in this country. Give us a chance to get what we need to help people," he said.

However, fears are being expressed that charlatans are profiting handsomely from the slaughter of protected animals.

The Aids epidemic is driving a rising demand in South Africa for the services of traditional healers, resulting in an increasing number of charlatans making a quick buck by selling Aids "treatments", said Professor Suzanne Leclerc-Madlala, head of the University of KwaZulu-Natal's anthropology department.

"There are a lot of non-professional healers out there making a quick buck," she said.

"Many traditional healers claim to have treatments for Aids and when asked to reveal details of the contents, they become secretive about it," Leclerc-Madlala added.

Seems like a little real science would solve a bunch of problems here.

Rather .. science AND a lot of good communication

THe RSA government's record on a scientific appraoch to dealing with HIV/AIDS speaks for itself. And it is not flattering.

quote:

THe RSA government's record on a scientific appraoch to dealing with HIV/AIDS speaks for itself. And it is not flattering.

True, the embarrasment of Mbekis stance
(although good few years old now and changed) and our fool of a health minister (pity we can't produce those like we produce enviro affairs ministers, those since 1994 have been superb) BUT in recent times there have been some good improvments, like the microbicide gel BUt the bad moves overshadow the good for a wile yet, unfortunately!

We better hunt these rare animals before they are extinct.