The documentary “Killing the Shepherd,” about the poaching of wildlife in remote Africa and the dogged efforts of many to combat the myriad conditions that cause it, will transport viewers into an unfamiliar, rather frightening world. Dire poverty and its cruel byproducts are hardly entertaining subjects but writer/director/narrator Thomas “Ta” Opre’s on the ground account is both daunting and inspiring.
The film looks at a remote village in Zambia where the population copes with lack of education, opportunity and employment and where widespread food insecurity led to rampant poaching of wildlife for bush meat. Into this socioeconomic nightmare comes Makasa Safaris Zambia and its owners, the Norton family. With wildlife and crops decimated, the Nortons form a partnership with the local community. After several years of ups and downs, there is enough wildlife so the company can begin to offer organized hunting safaris. If that sounds counterproductive, Roland Norton explains why it is not. Wildlife is the sole resource in this remote area and a way of life for the villages. Only by making hunting work for everyone, can the animals and the villagers survive.
The film doesn’t present an argument but it is hard to see one. Heavily armed gangs of poachers killed off the wildlife; once the animals were gone, the residents began to decimate the forests to make and sell coal. Destitute families sell young girls as child brides to old men; alcoholism among men is rampant; there is no education and little health care. Tribal elders such as Chief Shikabeta, a determined old woman who worked with Norton and advocated for her community, are murdered by poachers and land grabbers.
Makasa Safaris countered the poaching by forming a crew of armed and uniformed scouts, many of them former poachers, to fight the gangs using paid informants. The Nortons, working with other agencies, also created positive alternatives: fish farms — a daunting task since there is no electricity in the region — allowed people to harvest another source of protein. Working closely with the locals, they also developed schools and health clinics.
None of this is shown to be easy and indeed much of it is disturbing and even overwhelming. The film makes a strong case that only by educating locals about the need for conservation and protection of wildlife can the hunting and tourism vital to economic growth in these remote communities thrive and allow both people and animals to survive. It is an important and necessary subject that deserves attention.
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