Escobar's Hippos: Contraceptives Instead of Culling
The Colombian drug lord Escobar once acquired hippos for his private zoo.
In the face of the unchecked spread of Pablo Escobar's hippos authorities and institutions in Colombia are seeking a joint solution.
Contraceptives Instead of Culling
«We have requested support from the Colombian embassy in obtaining the long-term contraceptive GonaCon», said a statement from the regional environmental agency Cornare.
In the journal «Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences», researchers argue that hippos are merely filling an ecological niche that was originally occupied by other large mammals. Thus, the hippos are not a threat, but rather restore the function of several extinct species.
Largest Hippo Herd Outside Africa
Drug lord Escobar once brought four African hippos to his Hacienda Nápoles; most recently, an estimated 65 to 80 animals were roaming the region. Other options such as chemical castration are also now being considered.
More on the subject of recreational hunting: In our dossiers on recreational hunting gather fact-checks, analyses and background reports. What the research says about this is shown by Hunting fact-checked: the state of research.
The position of IG Wild beim Wild: IG Wild beim Wild rejects recreational hunting. Our model is the canton of Geneva, which has managed without recreational hunting since 1974: without hunting seasons, without hunting dogs, without driven hunts, without high seats, without the animal cruelty and crime that go hand in hand with hunting season elsewhere. What has worked there for over fifty years disproves every position paper by JagdSchweiz. An association that bases its policy on claims it refutes in its own documents is not a professional organisation, but a factory for misinformation.
