Letters

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Saving the Big Cats
I applaud time for its cover story [Aug. 23] on the vulnerable status of big cats (lions, tigers, snow leopards, cheetahs and others) — surely one of the saddest legacies of today's world. Human overpopulation, hunting, poverty and ignorance — along with the horrendous practice of buying and selling animal parts — have proved to be obstacles too tough to overcome, even for creatures as magnificent as the big cats you pictured. Every solution mentioned by the scientists and conservationists is worth trying. We owe these animals our best efforts.
Gillian Beach Cieri
West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.

I don't understand why we should protect and save the big cats, which are fierce man-eaters, while we kill and eat cattle, which are innocent grass eaters.
Goichi Fukui
Miura, Japan

It is outrageous that any conservationist could condone trophy hunting. Animal charities show their greed if they tolerate this practice. You noted that hunters pay as much as $80,000 to shoot a lion in Tanzania (where the per capita income is around $600). What is an individual's life worth there? Local communities should be encouraged to earn money through sustainable tourism and agriculture. If citizens can support themselves by sharing their wilderness and wildlife with tourists, poaching will decrease. Killing for pleasure sends the wrong message.
Helaine Cadman
Marlow, England

I fear that humankind's plundering of the habitat of these majestic animals and misguided attitudes toward them will be their downfall. I respect the right of ranchers to protect their herds from predators, but a global realization of the threat of extinction should motivate us to protect the big cats and allow for their continued survival.
Brett I. Gingold
Bend, Oregon, U.S.

Your report suggested that trophy hunting of lions and tigers might be an approach to conserving these species. The dwindling populations of big cats won't be saved by allowing trophy hunters to kill the animals. Trophy hunting not only removes the biggest and most genetically fit animals but also helps create markets for big-cat parts, undermining the long-term conservation of increasingly isolated populations. Conserving big cats is a culturally and socially complex issue but not so complicated that the direct killing of the fittest animals can turn out to be helpful.
Wayne Pacelle,
President Humane Society of the U.S.
Washington

Big cats are only doing what we humans do: they are predators, and so are we.
Irving Stanton Elman
Pacific Palisades, California, U.S.

While your article correctly pointed to the booming human population and a failure to safeguard big cats in wildlife preserves as reasons for their declining numbers, it neatly avoided a matter-of-fact discussion of the only solution that is not a mere stopgap: finding a way to curb rapidly spiraling world-population rates. Until we are able to control human overpopulation, any species that competes with Homo sapiens for space and food is doomed.
Karla Kellenberger
Stow, Ohio, U.S.

It was refreshing to see a conservation problem on the cover, rather than one about the war or politics, subjects that seem to dominate the headlines these days. I am an avid outdoorsman and work outside most of the time, but in my 34 years I had never seen a cougar until last week. Driving to work one morning, I saw a big cougar leap in front of my car, and in three bounds it was across the road and into a farmer's field. I have never seen a more graceful animal. That cougar is living within a stone's throw of farmhouses, and I hope it stays on its natural diet of deer meat. After reading your article on big cats, I am convinced that with a little patience we can both live in this world together.
Dean Price
Prince George, Canada

Two examples in your article perfectly illustrate the mindless overindulgence of prosperous countries. You noted that the estimated tiger population in the wild is 5,000 to 7,000. Your story also reported that as many as 7,000 tigers are thought to be kept as pets in the U.S. What an indictment! It is little consolation that they are at least alive, however miserably, and not being worn as fur coats.
Jan Schaafsma
Betty's Bay, South Africa

Big cats and other wild species are called predators, while man is politely referred to as just a primate. Judging from the meat consumption at our local butcher shop in a suburb of Delhi, I estimate that we humans slaughter more than 1 million chickens a day (a conservative estimate). India is not a rich country and has a large vegetarian population, but we also slaughter a large number of other animals. Yes, it is not only the big cats but many other living creatures that are in danger of extinction. Man is the cruelest predator of all.
Som Sharma
Gurgaon, India

Since the tiger is India's national animal, I feel especially sad that it is threatened. There were nearly 40,000 tigers on the subcontinent at the turn of the 20th century, but today there are only 3,200 to 4,500. The British and others relentlessly hunted them, and the West was fascinated with tiger-skin rugs. For the Chinese, each part of a tiger's body, from its nose to its tail, is an aphrodisiac. In India, utter poverty forces people to become poachers. Result: the clock is ticking for the tiger. Although science can land us on the moon, it cannot bring back an extinct species.
Rajat Ghai
Baroda, India

The Mechanics of Democracy
Hugo Chavez, love him or hate him, is the democratically elected President of Venezuela [Aug. 30]. I am disappointed to see the opposition cry foul at the results of the referendum on whether to recall Chávez. They got exactly what they wanted: a referendum, a new vote, ample time to campaign and a brigade of international observers, including former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. Voters supported Chávez's leadership by voting no in the recall referendum. It's apparent that the upper and middle classes, who are the minority, just don't get it. For decades, the plight of the majority poor was simply ignored. The tables have turned, and for the first time in decades the poor are enjoying health care, schooling and oil-revenue-backed food aid. You may not like Chávez, but he has stuck to his campaign promises, implemented his social reforms and by doing so has held on to power. This isn't a political disaster; this is a reflection of the fair and sometimes painful mechanics of democracy.
Omar van den Berg
Amsterdam

Battling Bogus Bags
Your article on counterfeit luxury merchandise [Aug. 23] never asked why Louis Vuitton or any of the other high-end manufacturers deserve to be paid $1,500 for a handbag when, as you reported, "a 12-m container filled with fake bags can turn a profit of $2 million to $4 million" at $35 per purse. Is the quality of the real designer bag really worth so much more? Perhaps not, since the president of the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition maintains that "the machines that companies use as legitimate manufacturers are also available to the bad guys." But who are the "bad guys" here? To me, it's just as criminal to soak consumers for $1,465 more per handbag just because the real thing has a genuine leather zipper toggle and one less stitch on the handle strap.
Jeff Deitrich
State College, Pennsylvania, U.S.

Only an idiot would spend $1,500 for a purse. I fail to see the appeal of these products. They are not attractive, practical or economical. The only selling point is that expensive designer bags are covered with the maker's logo. But that only serves to declare to the world that the owner has no self-confidence and no sense of aesthetics or economics.
Debbie Fields
Las Vegas

Hail to the Chef Joel Stein's tribute to Julia Child, "Living Through Better Cooking," was right on the mark [Aug. 23]. I owe my passion for cooking in large part to this remarkable woman. I watched her regularly throughout her long television career, and I still refer to several of her books. My favorite is her masterpiece, The Way to Cook. At first, the definite article in the title seemed a bit presumptuous, but it was entirely appropriate. Millions draw on Child's expertise to prepare a better meal, a fitting tribute to a real national treasure and a friend we all shall miss.
John Howard
Ventura, California, U.S.

George Bernard Shaw once observed, "There is no love sincerer than the love of food." A member of the Bread Bakers Guild, Julia Child shared with the public the secrets of great cooking, encouraging us to master the fundamentals and use the best ingredients. We take solace in the fact that Child's last meal was a bowl of French onion soup — which of course includes a toasted baguette slice. We recall fondly her closing line at the end of every show: "Bon appétit."
Gina Piccolino,
Executive Director Bread Bakers Guild of America
North Versailles, Pennsylvania, U.S.

A Governor's Secrets
I know what I think about New Jersey Governor James McGreevey [Aug. 23]: What a wimp! He is not a hero or a victim, as he would like to be portrayed. He could have been open about his homosexuality. Instead he chose to get married and run for Governor and tried to keep his private life secret. He might have succeeded if he had not created scandals with some of his choices while in office. The people of New Jersey, both gay and straight, should feel betrayed by this con artist.
Danielle Quinn
Middletown, Delaware, U.S.

We cannot let McGreevey use a double standard. Homosexuality cannot be an excuse for adultery and political favoritism. If McGreevey were a straight man, he would probably have been impeached already. As Governor, he should assume responsibility for his actions.
Abilio Colon
San Juan, Puerto Rico