 |
| Bushman child, CKGR, Botswana 2004
© 2004 Stephen Corry/Survival |
As the Gana and Gwi Bushmen's
case against the Botswana government restarted yesterday, government
witness Kathleen Alexander was unable to support her claim that the
Bushmen's livestock were causing diseases in wild animals.
Under cross-examination by the Bushmen's lawyer, Alexander was also
unable to identify any plants or animals that the Bushmen had
eliminated from the reserve.
When asked for the scientific basis for her contention that the
Bushmen's small number of livestock were causing diseases in wild
animals, she replied, Women give birth. We know women give birth and
men don't. We know disease is transmitted. We take it to be a risk
factor, and it is a universal just like gravity or breathing oxygen.
That is why we say keep domestic dogs away from wildlife.'
The Bushmen are taking the government to court for the right to live on
their ancestral land in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR). The
case continues.
