African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 165: Chapter 154 Burning (Content May Cause Discomfort)

Bang... Bang... Bang...

Northern Kenya, gunshots echo everywhere.

With the sound of gunfire, African wildlife falls, clearing the way for grazing lands, buffaloes, lions, warthogs, hyenas, leopards, zebras on the African savannah...

Any visible animal suffers, East African colonies first start a fire, directly igniting the grasslands.

Animals are driven by the fire in all directions, the unfortunate ones who can’t escape are consumed by the flames, and some lie half-dead on the scorched earth, moaning in pain.

In places the fire can’t reach, East African immigrants have to solve the problem themselves.

Currently, immigrants in East Africa have normalized three things in their lives: farming, warfare, and setting fires.

Farming is naturally the top priority for East Africa, which is easily understood.

Warfare is to acquire land, as East Africa often clashes with indigenous forces, so it’s unsurprising that East African colonies are frequently at war.

Setting fires is quite peculiar; fire is used to clear land, establish settlements, and eliminate animal habitats.

There’s nothing more time-saving and effortless than setting a fire in the African savannah during the dry season. The entire East Africa exhibits a primeval and wild beauty of slash-and-burn agriculture.

East African colonies seem to be at odds with both Black people and wildlife, as there’s no reason required to eliminate any indigenous being of East Africa.

Ernst insists that he holds no prejudice against the natives; it purely results from conflicting interests.

The true owners of this African land are not Black people but these herds of wildlife, evenly distributed from south to north across the Sahara desert region.

Except for the tropical rainforests, which are the true forbidden zone for humans, no one knows what lurks within.

On the African savannah, common sights include prides of lions, herds of wildebeest, elephants, zebras, hyenas, wild dogs, warthogs...

The entire 8 million square kilometers of African savannah, from West Africa to East Africa and down to South Africa, is basically inhabited by these creatures.

Ernst has no qualms about killing them because there’s no end to them, let alone extinction.

Regarding species extinction, Ernst lacks reverence, feeling that the Earth continues spinning despite countless species being wiped out as seen in the news in his previous life.

Moreover, Ernst doesn’t deny these animals a way out; it’s just unfortunate they were born in the wrong place.

The policy of the East African colonies is to utterly destroy everything wherever immigrants arrive.

East Africa is vast and sparsely populated, and the immigrants can choose the most desirable places to settle, indifferent to mountains, primeval forests, wastelands...

Take the Serengeti for example, such a large area (approximately over 30,000 square kilometers), Ernst doesn’t plan to develop it; it counts as a nature reserve.

Developing Africa naturally requires drastic measures, resulting in substantial destruction of grasslands and forests.

In fact, Ernst employs slash-and-burn techniques also to disrupt the local ecosystem.

Africa, as a hotbed of various diseases, affects not only humans but animals as well.

In his previous life, Ernst’s most striking impressions were of African swine fever and African horse sickness.

African swine fever, which is akin to ”AIDS” for pigs, has been incurable since its first discovery in Kenya in 1927, continuing for over a hundred years until before Ernst’s time travel, without an effective vaccine developed.

The spread of African swine fever is extensive, ravaging Africa entirely while establishing its presence in Europe, America, and Asia; even cold regions like Russia have seen its presence.

In areas affected by African swine fever, the problem can only be resolved through large-scale eradication, with all pigs within a few kilometers’ vicinity of the outbreak not spared.

African swine fever is highly contagious with a 100% fatality rate, requiring infected pigs to be eliminated upon discovery, along with quarantine, culling, disinfection, and harmless treatment. No effective prevention and control methods exist.

The initial transmission vectors for African swine fever are parasites like soft ticks, whereas African horse sickness is spread via parasites such as Culicoides midges.

Africa has long suffered from parasitic issues, so East African colonies face the same problem when pursuing livestock farming.

Although these diseases don’t exist yet in this era, Ernst dares not gamble.

Using fire-clearing is the most economical and straightforward method; what needs cutting is cut, as that’s how conditions stand in this era.

The first cut Ernst made targeted the animals of East Africa, as they harbor various diseases and parasites, and themselves pose a threat to livestock.

Therefore, clearing the grasslands of animals is necessary, and adding a fire helps destroy the habitat for those parasites.

When the rainy season arrives, the grasslands will sprout new pasture, making it safer for East Africa to graze cattle and horses on the grasslands.

...

”Andre! The pork’s already cooked; I can smell its aroma. Such a pity!” Porter Yang remarked, looking at the warthog victimized by the fire.

”Ha, don’t even think about it. Orders from above say all animal carcasses are to be cremated later. Wild game may be delicious, but you’d need to stay alive to enjoy it,” Andre replied.

”I really don’t see any harm in this; it’s just a pig!” Porter Yang retorted.

”This isn’t the Eurasian continent. Just because something doesn’t seem threatening doesn’t mean it’s safe.

Especially these wild animals, back when we first came to East Africa, we could manage when food was scarce, but now when we have enough, why risk it?

Don’t take offense at what I say; these are all bloody lessons learned from the experiences of local natives. Tropical animals are full of parasites and diseases, and eating them recklessly could lead to severe consequences.

I once saw a native who was all covered in parasites, and it put me off food for three days,” Andre lectured.

The native Andre mentioned wasn’t actually infected with parasites from eating wild animals. That unfortunate soul suffered from drinking unclean water, but that didn’t stop Andre from using it as a negative example.

There are countless examples of African natives suffering from various parasites. Unlike immigrants, natives don’t even wear clothes and aren’t particular about their food and drink, so experienced old immigrants, informed by colonial education, are all the more cautious about following the rules.

Porter Yang was visibly triggered by Andre’s account, recalling unpleasant memories, and hurriedly said, ”Now that you mention it, I really didn’t pay much attention before. I too saw a native who didn’t wear shoes; his feet were chewed up by something (sand fleas), he could hardly walk. Thinking about it now is truly terrifying.”

”Right? So let’s just stick to following orders. Those high-ups know a lot more than us; they say it’s science,” Andre remarked.

”You’re right, science is indeed a good thing. Back then, those who didn’t listen often got sick and later wised up. I’ll be more careful too from now on,” Porter Yang agreed.

...

In the evening, immigrants piled the collected animal carcasses onto the wood.

The person in charge poured kerosene over them and lit it with a lighter. In the raging fire, these animal corpses returned to dust and ashes.

The grassland scorched by the fire turned completely black, waiting only for the rainy season to bring forth green growth once more. However, by that time, none of the original wild animals remained, and only East Africa’s livestock roamed the grasslands.