https://www.chron.com/neighbor...osystem-12894830.php



Houstonians team up to save wildlife, ecosystem for future generations

By Rebecca Hazen Published 12:00 am, Tuesday, May 8, 2018


A group of friends in Houston, Mike and Margit Axelrad and Caleb and Charity Wright, have teamed up with Ivan Carter, a wildlife conservationist from Zimbabwe, Africa, to raise awareness about preserving wildlife for future generations.

Carter has been working with wildlife for over 30 years, and is the founder of the Ivan Carter Wildlife Conservation Alliance (ICWCA). He also has a television show, "Carter's W.A.R. (Wild Animal Response)” on the Outdoor Channel.

The Axelrad’s and the Wright’s, along with Carter, have all hunted animals in Africa and other places abroad. They know that it may seem odd that a group of hunters are working towards a wildlife conservation cause, but because of that, it is more important than ever to have the conversation.

“At some point, all hunters evolve. You realize you can do so much more. I want to make a change, and I would like to see a hunter making the charge. To me, it is paying it forward,” Mike Axelrad said.



The ICWCA teams up with six projects throughout Africa: the Zambezi Delta Anti-poaching teams, Lwiro Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Centre, Giraffe Conservation Foundation, Southern African Wildlife College, Bubye Valley Conservancy and Care for Wild Rhino Orphanage.

“A turning point for me was when I had kids. I realized, that even in my lifetime, wild places and the wildlife in numbers has shrunk so dramatically. How am I possibly going to share with my kids the stuff that I love so much, if I don’t step up,” Carter said.

Carter continued, “In this line of work, there are so many highs, but also so many lows. How can you even describe what it is like when you are a part of rescuing a baby rhino and you watch it fly off by helicopter, off to safety, but an hour before that, you see a rhino with its face hacked off and it’s still alive?”


Hunting versus poaching

According to Carter, the difference between hunting legally and poaching is one word: sustainability.

“Hunting becomes poaching if you don’t include the words ethical and sustainable in front of it. A well-managed hunt is a hunt that is being researched ahead of time. There are rules and regulations. Poaching is purely killing as much as you can, as fast as you can, for personal gain,” Carter explained.

There have been bans on the import of elephants and lions into the United States, and while anti-hunters may applaud that, Carter says that they don’t realize that this type of hunting, if done right, can be a positive thing for wildlife conservation.

“Twenty or thirty million acres of national parks in Tanzania is set aside for hunting. Those hunting businesses have gone broke. Right now the government is making the decision to resettle these game reserves with humans and villages and cattle. The day that resettlement starts, it still start a landslide. All of this land in Tanzania will have no anti-poaching, no protection, nobody visiting it. That is instead of these few lion trophies, the money from which was upholding the entire conservation model,” Carter said.

“I focus on if the animal is the oldest and if it is out of the breeding herd. I try to make the most impact out of what it is I am hunting,” Axelrad said. “The last thing anyone who wants to do is shoot the last one. Poachers don’t see it that way. So many people can’t see the distinction though.”

Axelrad continued, “We can collectively as a community here, go help those communities and that ecosystem and bring a whole different perspective and attitude.”

Carter also notes that wildlife persecution problems derive from the fact that people are hungry.

“The only way we can achieve long time conservation is if the human population can benefit more from healthy live wildlife, then dead wildlife that we can eat right now. I can kill and eat a giraffe today, tomorrow, and the next day. What people don’t realize is that giraffe have gone extinct in seven African countries.”

Preservation efforts

According to Carter, the ICWCA focuses on iconic species of Africa, because that is easiest to draw attention to, such as chimpanzees, giraffe and rhinos. As important as it is to preserve an animal, it is just as, if not more important to preserve the ecosystem the animal lives in as well.

“We want to make a profound difference,” Carter said.

“Last year, a family in Houston pledged enough money for us to move a whole population of giraffes across the Nile River, into an area where formerly, the giraffe had been poached out. Those giraffes have just had babies. Immediately the wheels are starting to turn,” Carter said.

To help raise money for the causes, ICWCA has created The Raindrop Initiative, named after rain drops being the source of life.

“A tidal wave is a very powerful thing, but is simply just a million rain drops coming together,” Carter explained.

If everyone can pledge to give $5 a month for a year towards The Raindrop Initiative, each of the “drops” can combine to be more powerful, and finance a large amount of wildlife protection.

‘An army of people’

The Axelrads hosted a party at their home in Bellaire on Tuesday, May 1, for their friends to learn about Carter’s work.

Carter noted that it was important for the Axelrad’s to host a party like this, because it would give an opportunity for himself, and his team members, to talk to the community face to face about animal conservation.

“I want you as an interested party, to be able to look at us and say, yes this is someone I trust to do the right thing and to look after the animals. We’re not talking about a big organization where you’ll never really know who it is. We are talking about an individual,” Carter said.

“I don’t want just the check written out. I want to motivate an army of people,” Axelrad said. “When they need something, we will have the resources within our community to go get directly involved. The goal is to have all of our kids enjoy Africa, and other wild places, the way I have.”

For more information about Ivan Carter, and further links to the partner organizations, the ICWCA and The Raindrop Initiative, visit www.ivancarter.com.

I am an officer and director of the ICWCA. I can tell you it is the real deal. A lot of good has been done in those projects. Ivan has accomplished a lot in these projects. All I do is handle the money, taxes, etc. None of the accomplishments are attributable to anything I have done. Ivan deserves all the credit.

Happy days!! One of zimbabwes most dynamic and proactive guides and PH leading the way to a new era.I have no doubt this will be a huge success and many will follow the new movement.

Larry many thanks for the insight.

Good deal we need more of it!!

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
I am an officer and director of the ICWCA. I can tell you it is the real deal. A lot of good has been done in those projects. Ivan has accomplished a lot in these projects. All I do is handle the money, taxes, etc. None of the accomplishments are attributable to anything I have done. Ivan deserves all the credit.

Is it a 501(c)3? For US donations?

quote:

Originally posted by drongo:

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
I am an officer and director of the ICWCA. I can tell you it is the real deal. A lot of good has been done in those projects. Ivan has accomplished a lot in these projects. All I do is handle the money, taxes, etc. None of the accomplishments are attributable to anything I have done. Ivan deserves all the credit.

Is it a 501(c)3? For US donations?

Yes it is.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
I am an officer and director of the ICWCA. I can tell you it is the real deal. A lot of good has been done in those projects. Ivan has accomplished a lot in these projects. All I do is handle the money, taxes, etc. None of the accomplishments are attributable to anything I have done. Ivan deserves all the credit.

Larry is being humble here. I can say with absolutely certainty that he has worked very hard behind the scenes to help with conservation.

Thank you Larry and Ivan for all that you do.

quote:

Originally posted by rxgremlin:

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
I am an officer and director of the ICWCA. I can tell you it is the real deal. A lot of good has been done in those projects. Ivan has accomplished a lot in these projects. All I do is handle the money, taxes, etc. None of the accomplishments are attributable to anything I have done. Ivan deserves all the credit.

Larry is being humble here. I can say with absolutely certainty that he has worked very hard behind the scenes to help with conservation.

Thank you Larry and Ivan for all that you do.

+1

quote:

“I don’t want just the check written out. I want to motivate an army of people,” Axelrad said. “When they need something, we will have the resources within our community to go get directly involved. The goal is to have all of our kids enjoy Africa, and other wild places, the way I have.”

Sorry folks that does not cut the mustard in Africa. Ten out of ten for enthusiasm though.

quote:

Originally posted by rxgremlin:

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
I am an officer and director of the ICWCA. I can tell you it is the real deal. A lot of good has been done in those projects. Ivan has accomplished a lot in these projects. All I do is handle the money, taxes, etc. None of the accomplishments are attributable to anything I have done. Ivan deserves all the credit.

Larry is being humble here. I can say with absolutely certainty that he has worked very hard behind the scenes to help with conservation.

Thank you Larry and Ivan for all that you do.

Not really sure what we are doing with AWCC when we have ICWCA and a host of other capital letters walking the same road?

quote:

Originally posted by fairgame:

quote:

Originally posted by rxgremlin:

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
I am an officer and director of the ICWCA. I can tell you it is the real deal. A lot of good has been done in those projects. Ivan has accomplished a lot in these projects. All I do is handle the money, taxes, etc. None of the accomplishments are attributable to anything I have done. Ivan deserves all the credit.

Larry is being humble here. I can say with absolutely certainty that he has worked very hard behind the scenes to help with conservation.

Thank you Larry and Ivan for all that you do.

Not really sure what we are doing with AWCC when we have ICWCA and a host of other capital letters walking the same road?

They are not the same Andrew.

The ICWCA I supporting very specific projects in Africa. The AWCC is not doing that at all.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:

quote:

Originally posted by fairgame:

quote:

Originally posted by rxgremlin:

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
I am an officer and director of the ICWCA. I can tell you it is the real deal. A lot of good has been done in those projects. Ivan has accomplished a lot in these projects. All I do is handle the money, taxes, etc. None of the accomplishments are attributable to anything I have done. Ivan deserves all the credit.

Larry is being humble here. I can say with absolutely certainty that he has worked very hard behind the scenes to help with conservation.

Thank you Larry and Ivan for all that you do.

Not really sure what we are doing with AWCC when we have ICWCA and a host of other capital letters walking the same road?

They are not the same Andrew.

The ICWCA I supporting very specific projects in Africa. The AWCC is not doing that at all.

Thanks for the clarification.

quote:

Originally posted by Safari2:

quote:

Originally posted by rxgremlin:

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
I am an officer and director of the ICWCA. I can tell you it is the real deal. A lot of good has been done in those projects. Ivan has accomplished a lot in these projects. All I do is handle the money, taxes, etc. None of the accomplishments are attributable to anything I have done. Ivan deserves all the credit.

Larry is being humble here. I can say with absolutely certainty that he has worked very hard behind the scenes to help with conservation.

Thank you Larry and Ivan for all that you do.

+1

+2

thank you gents for your kind words - Larry does a lot to keep things straight - and without the incredible efforts on the front lines of the 6 initiatives we support it would all be for nothing -

there is hope and lots of it !

thanks again ,
imc

quote:

Last year, a family in Houston pledged enough money for us to move a whole population of giraffes across the Nile River, into an area where formerly, the giraffe had been poached out. Those giraffes have just had babies. Immediately the wheels are starting to turn,” Carter said

Just watched the 2016 documentary on Nature/PBS, really well done and appears to be another legitimate quality organization that we can get behind. Thank you for your efforts, all involved, in whatever capacity.