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Campaign Against Canned Hunting (CACH)

Bev Pervan died 30th April 2016 RIP

5/5/2016

20 Comments

 
Bev
I felt lost when we moved from the Kalahari and did not know what to do with myself. As my arms began to heal I realised what a terrible mistake I had made in giving up the work at the KRC. But it was too late to go back and I was now stuck in suburbia where I did not want to be. I do not want to rehash all the reasons why we sold, just to tell you a little of what we have been up to since leaving the KRC and what our thoughts are for the future.

I tried to find animal welfare work around me and seemed to come up against a brick wall every time. The SPCA didn’t need, or have anything for me to do. The Penguin Sanctuary and Monkey sanctuary were both too far away for me to be of any help there. So what was I going to do? 
That year I was kept busy organising special and successful evenings for the donkeys. The next year I raised money for the Rita’s baboons in Limpopo and Francois Hugo’s seals in Cape Town.

With so much time on my hands I used to read a lot about the work done by Sea Shepherd. I loved Paul Watson’s aggressive and no- nonsense attitude and one day I asked Chris if he would mind if I went away for a month and volunteered for Sea Shepherd. (He unkindly claimed that he would be happy to get a rest from me for a month-I’ll get him for that!)   So I applied, was accepted as a volunteer and off I went. Here is that little story:-
The Sea Shepherd ship, named the ‘Steve Irwin’ after the famous Australian TV conservationist, was docked in Melbourne harbour and there the crew of volunteers was working hard to prepare her for her next campaign to stop the illegal whaling by the Japanese in Antarctica.
Volunteer work for Sea Shepherd was brutally hard work. Melbourne was cold and windy, with misty mornings and some rain during the month I was there, making working conditions very uncomfortable.

The crew was made up of young volunteers from all parts of the world. At the age of sixty, I was by far the oldest crew member. By comparison, the ship’s manager, Ben, was only 25 years old. So I was concerned that I might not be able to fit in. But I need not have worried. There was an initiation ceremony. This meant jumping off the high side of this 53-meter-long vessel into the icy cold, dark and dirty water of Melbourne harbour. I decided that, to prove myself to the younger generation, I had to enter into this madness. So off came the shoes and the jumper, and over I went, shouting “make way for granny”. The surprised look on the kids’ faces made it all worthwhile, even though I thought I was about to have a heart attack when I hit that freezing cold water. I swam to the side and got out but couldn’t stop my teeth from chattering. That leap bridged the age gap and from then on I was accepted as a fully initiated crew member.

The dedication of the permanent crew was an inspiration and I really felt that I was in the company of like-minded people. These young activists are not paid, and all their food comes by donation. We ate whatever was donated, so if no one donated, say, fruit for a week, we went without fruit. The onshore volunteers were people living and working in Melbourne who devote their time after work to come and help on the ship. We had carpenters, welders and even those who just came to do a late night watch for us, to give the ship volunteers a chance to get some sleep. The ship did tours, but only over the weekends. Visitors used to bring food with them.

Because this is a working ship it would be difficult to do tours with so much work going on during the week. On the weekends we tidied the ship a little and showed visitors around. We were given one and a half days off a week to go and do what we wanted. Because I am not so fond of cities I spent most of my days-off working on the ship.
Duties started at 9am after breakfast. They included, welding, carpentry, chipping rust, painting, cleaning, and sorting out the tools. Everyday chores included mopping the galley floor, scullery, sweeping and mopping the passage ways, garbage removal, and cleaning the heads (bathrooms).

Everyone had to do these chores at least four times a week over and above the other jobs. So every week we would put our names down on a schedule.

Out of compassion for animals, no animal products were consumed on this ship. Meals were all vegan, and Zin, the young lady who cooked for us, was wonderful. We often came down for lunch or dinner and there would be scones, muffins or chocolate chip cookies. Great treats. I have never tasted such wonderful choc chip cookies and I have never seen cookies disappear so quickly.

Watches were either four or six hour duties. The ship had to have someone on watch 24/7 and these were allocated to the volunteer crew every week.
My favourite watch was 8pm to midnight and the one I did not like was midnight to 4am. I never seemed to be able to sleep before or after that shift.

I was lucky enough to have animal welfare friends in Melbourne, Phil and Trix Wollen of the Winsome Constance Kindness Trust. Phil is a successful merchant banker who donates millions to deserving animal welfare groups all over the world. Kindness House in Melbourne is a multi-storey commercial development funded by the Trust and given free of charge to animal welfare groups. It was a privilege to meet and spend time with such a motivated philanthropist.

He and Trix very kindly took off a day to drive me out to the Healesville Sanctuary, where I saw some interesting and delightful Aussie wildlife. A lovely sanctuary, also run with volunteers, clean and spacious, and the animals looked very contented. I even got to tickle a kangaroo. Of course the Koalas only tucked their heads in deeper to their tummies when I told them that I wanted to take them home with me. I never got to see their little faces.

Melbourne city is very clean and has a great cosmopolitan feeling, with lots of restaurants with their outdoor tables and chairs. For a vegan it is wonderful. No matter where I went in Melbourne, I was able to get soy milk in my coffee or hot chocolate. The supermarkets cater to vegetarians and I could see it would be a pleasure shopping for vegetarian food in Australia.

It has been an incredible experience, truly wonderful to work with such dedicated young people and I am so proud to have been given the opportunity to be a shepherd even if it was for so short a time. May the Steve Irwin and her selfless crew go full steam ahead and help save all the whales now and in the future.

When I returned home I was all inspired by the dedication and upbeat attitude of the volunteers on the ship. I decided to continue with volunteer work. The next volunteer work I was to do was to help out at CROW, the Centre for Rehabilitation of Wildlife, in Durban. I knew they were always busy and needed help. I flew from George to Durban and spent two weeks there, working hands on with the birds and animals. Very interesting to see how other people run a rehab centre. I learnt a lot, even though my experience was with Kalahari wildlife, whereas most of CROW’s rescues are of garden birds and small mammals.

When I got home I told Chris that I no longer wanted to spend my life in suburbia and that I wondered if he would be interested in selling the house and moving to an area where we could set up another rehab centre. Having learnt a lot from my many mistakes I would do things differently the next time.

As always Chris was open to my suggestion and ready to back me once again and we put the house on the market. We spent a little time travelling around the Baviaanskloof looking around to see if we would be able to afford to buy a farm there once we sold our house. This is a wilderness area of outstanding natural beauty. See www.baviaanskloof.net   

What was great about the many trips up to the Baviaans was that I met a lot of the local people and went in to meet the practicing vets. The next thing I knew I was getting calls from the vets to fetch raptors that had come into their surgery. I rehabbed a jackal buzzard and two steppe buzzards which was so rewarding especially seeing them released and again seen many months later. I coloured the tip of the tail feathers with mercurochrome so that we could recognise them.

So to close off, we were fortunate enough to sell our house in these tough economic times, and buy a little piece of wilderness (175 ha) in the Klein Karoo near Ladismith, where we can rescue and help the wildlife in that area. I specifically want to start a vulture breeding program because all the Cape Vultures have, over the years, disappeared due to poisoning etc.

Chris was up in the Addo Elephant Park only to see rotting carcasses and no vultures. Time to help bring them back and if that is all I ever do with the rest of my life it will be worth it. So now my life’s ambition, if given a second chance, is to start a breeding program for the Cape Vulture and hopefully, in my life time, see them back flying in Addo Elephant Park and the areas they used to inhabit.
20 Comments
Cristel Belce-Kennedy
5/5/2016 08:53:57 am

Her wonderful humour, hard work & sincere dedication have touched many and saved much of our wildlife. Bev's life and contribution was important and she will be missed.

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Cecilie Davidson
5/7/2016 01:15:07 am

Bev and her wonderful work and dedication is an inspiration.

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Julien Crowther
5/5/2016 09:09:29 am

A wonderful lady who will be much missed by all who knew her and by the wildlife she loved. Chris - I hope Bev's new dream if the Karoo Wildlife Centre will be the success she wanted and which you both deserve.

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Louise van der Merwe link
5/5/2016 09:21:38 am

Bev and Chris have been an inspiration to me over many, many years. Single-handedly, they two of them put wildlife - and canned lion hunting in particular - on the map internationally. Two bravehearts with an innate understanding that animals are here with us, not for us, and who fought for the world to recognise this, every step of their way. Fight on Chris. The animals need you.

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Loretta Franklin link
5/5/2016 10:16:32 am

I am so sad to hear of Bev's passing. She and Chris have dedicated so much of themselves toward the welfare of wildlife. I was so thrilled to see when there were so many protests worldwide against canned lion hunting. While I've never met her, her writings and writings about her make me sad that she is gone.

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jasper humphreys
5/5/2016 11:21:10 am

Like many who met both Chris and Bev, if it wasn't a life-changing experience well then it was the nearest thing to it. We met in the Kalahari, on a hot monring (hotter than usual !) and life was never quite the same again. Chris and Bev were a double-act that were joined both at the hip and the mind; Chris passionate but fiery-eyed calm; Bev passionate and even more passionate. It is down to people like Bev (and Chris) that the cause of animal protection never fades, never dims and will last forever. The spirit of Bev will last forever: viva Bev !

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Justin R-Söndergaard
5/5/2016 11:45:37 am

Thank you...conservation is richer because of you of both.

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Andrea Meggiorin
5/5/2016 12:28:50 pm

I am a " few words " man. I can only say I am so moved... All my passion for Conservation began knowing the work of this two wonderful people: Bev Pervan and Chris Mercer. I organised the first Global March for Lions in Italy. I try to do all my best for Lions. Everything coming from Bev and Chris deep inspiration. I will go on, we will go on, always thinking She is watching us among the stars.

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Margrit Harris link
5/5/2016 12:28:56 pm

Thank you for sharing this Chris. Thank you for the contributions you and Bev have made to make all our lives richer.

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Anouschka link
5/5/2016 03:37:12 pm

I sadly did not meet Bev in person. We had only corresponded. I know this was my loss. I would have learned so much from her and been inspired. I also know Heaven has a new star shining bright. I am grateful for Bev and Chris who persevere in fighting the good fight where so many would give up, who epitomize the qualities that seem so hard to find today. It gives me faith. Thank you so much. Dear Bev RIP.

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Gail
5/5/2016 07:14:15 pm

Thank you for sharing this, Chris. It is truly inspirational. We have never met, and probably, never will. Regardless, you, Bev, CACH and many others have educated me about wildlife conservation and I will do my best to pay forward the wisdom you all have shared. God Bless.<3

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CJ Munoz
5/6/2016 02:21:11 am

I really enjoyed reading this Chris, and could see it all in my mind.
I loved Kalahari Dream. So well written. If you haven't read it, you must.
Love,
CJ

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Virginia Greenwood-Warner
5/6/2016 05:45:30 am

Chris I am so sorry for your loss or should we say "our" loss because she was an extraordinary woman. While a lot of us never met her, we knew her through her compassion. Cherish the wonderful memories you have, they are special.!

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Candice Ptolemy
5/6/2016 06:21:48 am

I connected with Bev and Chris in early 2001 when they were saving a 3 legged caracal named Tripod and her two babies from being killed by the government "laws". At that time I had just rescued Gemma, a 3 legged beagle mix dog from being gassed at a government animal kill facility in North Carolina simply because she was homeless. I immediately contacted Bev and asked how I could help. I got to work and brought the international community together to make such an impact on the SA government that the 3 caracals were returned to them, rehabbed and ultimately released. After that I helped Bev with other groups she was connected to such as the cape seals. I even helped with an early version of her book. I suggested that eventually the book should be made into a movie. Maybe it still will. I love you Bev and so do all the humans and animals whose lives you have made better. I will always remember you as laughing while your toes are being nibbled by the meerkats when they wanted you to get up out of bed and feed them because they were hungry.

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Rosa
5/6/2016 07:02:30 am

Very sad indeed. Wonderful human being who dedicated her life for those with no voice. A great loss ....

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Sue Schofield
5/6/2016 11:02:53 pm

Tears are flowing after reading all of the above comments. Such special people...and thank you so much for what you do for lions and all the rest. I made contact after, unknowingly, going to volunteer at Ukutula...and now I help Donnalea with her lion work in Melbourne. I can't wait to read Bev's book about the Kalihari and hope to visit Karoo. It is on my list..Bless you both... for caring so much about the voiceless and even more so for doing something about it! The legacy will shine on...

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Gwen Merrick
5/7/2016 09:49:56 am

What a wonderful person! Will certainly be lighting a candle on the fourteenth and getting Kalahari Dream too! So, so sorry!

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Mwana Bermudes link
5/13/2016 11:46:13 am

Honoring Bev's extraordinary life concerning the survival of our natural world, I read from her and companion Chris's book Kalahari Dream...Thank you (-:

"The myriad differences resolved by sitting, all doors opened.

In this still place I follow my nature, be what it may.

From the one hundred flowers I wander freely,

the soaring cliff-my hall of meditation with the moon emerged, my mind is motionless.

Sitting on this frosty seat, no further dream of fame.

The forest,the mountain follow their ancient days,

And through the long spring day, not even the shadow of a bird. "

Reizan (d.1411)

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Sheryl Schroeder
6/27/2018 11:13:41 am

I am only now getting to read this. What wonderful stories! What a lively wit she had and what a truly great loss for the animal advocate world. Thank you for sharing this, Chris, and please know that people all over the world are rooting for you and all the work you do. I just returned from my first ever trip to South Africa, and I'm ready to chuck out all my earthly belongings and devote my life to conservation of African lions....

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Kerry Pervan
9/19/2020 11:25:04 pm

Bev was my stepmum. She raised my sister and I from the age of 5. We had large gaps in out relationship but she was a huge influence on me and i love her forever and always.

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