Today’s post is a serious one but very important both to me and Remi. If this is not your cup of tea, please don’t simply “unsubscribe” but come back later in the week, there is plenty of Provence to follow…
Ben froze at the sound of the first shot. At the second, he took off at a run. Kipling, our wiry rascal looked up at me with confusion. Amazingly, Ben is still well-trained enough that I was able to get him into a sit just long enough to slip the leash back on him. All around the outskirts of our village, we could hear the loud firecracker pops. Ben’s eyes widened until each one resounded as “fear, fear, fear” and he began to tremble. He strained on the leash as we all headed home at a pace just under a run, to safety in their minds, for today is the opening day of hunting season.
In France, the hunting of most species is highly regulated but you wouldn’t think so today for it would seem as if everyone wanted to use up all of their allotments at once for the number of gunshots ringing out at the 11am start time. So now, I will have to be more precise with not only the when of our walks but most certainly the where, as a man was killed last year just beyond the village by his colleague who mistook him for a deer.
As I sat down to type, my heart still beating fast with adrenaline, a mad rush of images flurried through my mind while I tried to flip file my sentiments on the act of hunting. A sentence began to form: “In the different traditional societies that I have had the good fortune to cover in our travels…” pause…what was it that they did? No actually, most of them did not rely on hunting to survive, meat is often precious, rare and agrarian gains were key to nourishment. But that too is changing, as modern society infringes on their lands, certainly that is the case with the Maasai. We are pushing them to change. And certainly we are the ones that have convinced ourselves of the need for hunting to be a sport.
As I have mentioned repeatedly recently,
Remi, my companion, has been creating a tribute to our incredible wildlife in tribute to the needless slaughter of Cecil the Lion. Now, I should say that from the beginning of Lost in Arles, Remi has not wanted to be a part of this blog directly, so this is of my choosing but I know that quite a few of you have been following along. For those of you that are interested, the end of his six weeks of storytelling has culminated in a fund-raising drive for the
Frankfurt Zoological Society, whose efforts have already saved 26 black rhinos in the Ngorongoro Crater (and have set up the security to protect the entire animal population) and are now focusing on the very high risk zones of the Serengeti National Park. Remi is calling out to the 31,000 members of his feed as well as the 2.3 million members of the feed for The Photo Society, which features the works of photographers that have been published in National Geographic.
I am incredibly proud of his work but especially so in that Remi, being Remi, has tried to raise the debate beyond just the horrific example of Cecil the Lion’s death. I will leave you with his words:
“Last July the killing of Cecil the Lion troubled me deeply. Mankind has definitely become the hyper-predator of planet Earth, who now possess the power to destroy anything we want while changing the global climate as well. And because of this super-power I feel that we have arrived at a turning point in our history and evolution: How can we control our own animality which sleeps in each of us from the dawn of time? It is my feeling that it is the biggest challenge of Mankind ever. To be able to grow together empowered by a vision: Responsible for the planet and respectful to all forms of life. And to do so, our societies should not think about the future as the idea to keep growing anymore, an overdue concept because we have already gone way too far. We should think of the world in terms of creating and keeping Harmony. Harmony versus Growing. The winning concept is the one you choose, yes, you reading here, because everything begins with oneself. From this awareness depends our own survival. On Sunday, pass the word, we will move to action on ig to feed together the Harmony and to balance the bad energy of one of us, a dentist who killed for pleasure.”
For those of you on instagram, you can find more information at @remibenali or @thephotosociety
Any amount, even a dollar, would be welcome and if you are so inclined and it is tax-deductible.
Please feel free to share this post or Remi’s feed on all social media, merci!
There is so much beauty in our world and I am grateful for it.
With my Highest Regards to all of you,
Thank you for being here,
Heather
I admire Remi and his vision: "We should think of the world in terms of creating and keeping Harmony."
Thank you Heather.
Thank you Heather and Remi for bringing this to our attention. The thoughtless actions of humans surprise me every day, and I will certainly pass this on. Such a tragic loss. xx
I love your picture of the mother duck. She looks exactly like the ducks who nest in our duck houses on our pond; and thus keep their ducklings safe from predators.
I pray no one shoots any of them!
All 17 of our most recent hatches came back to say hello the other day!
Thank you Heather for sharing the information in this post. Remi's statement is most impressive. Those thought-provoking words show us how important individual responsibility is in changing and affecting the whole.
Glad you are cautious on your walks with the dogs during fall hunting. We in the southwest will also have to avoid certain mountain trails, when deer and elk season begins. Nature loving hikers are replaced by camouflaged figures with high powered rifles. I will never comprehend the relevance of hunting for sport, locally or globally.
Amen.
More later when I can say more w/o ranting.
Heather, Remi is a very special man indeed to take up this endeavor If only all of us would remember the importance of the glorious earth on which we live and share with all creatures! I will go to his links…
xoxo
Karena
The Arts by Karena
Featuring India Hicks!
Neglected to add…you four be careful on your walks! Get some orange vests for you all …especially your pups!
Thank you so much Heather! RebeccaNYC
Yes, a beautiful post,Heather. Your Remi's feeds on IG has been a beautiful and evocative tale in memory of Cecil the lion! Thoughtful and heart wrenching the prose and breathtaking photos have been my companion first thing in the morning along with my tea. Urging all to hop over to the link given here to donate what they can!
i have wondered where I can read about your impressions of the this incredible journey that you and Remi took. Did you publish it?
Again I will add, you are two very special souls destined to be together <3 xx
Beautiful post Heather. And thank you Remi for your beautiful words and your call to attention for the rights of animals. I think Cecil's life is just as precious as that salmon swimming upstream and that's why we should all be vegetarians and call it a day. No harm, no foul. XOXO