Whoever put together this National Braai Day advert, on Facebook, is either a near-sighted fool or a genius.

A cute fluffy lamb?

And Michael Pauls likes it?

Clearly, he has never cooked a juicy puppy, like they do in Asia.

Of course, if cute fluffy lambs or juicy puppies don’t tickle your taste buds, then perhaps tender piglets will.

Please spare a thought for Absa the rhino, who was brutally poached a few days ago.

Absa the rhino had his horn hacked off with a machete just 1.5km from the lodge. They were busy with the next horn when the poachers were disturbed. He’s now struggling to survive. [Getaway]

According to the latest (radio) update from Aquila Private Game Reserve’s owner, Searl Derman, the vet’s prognosis is “bleak”. Which isn’t a good sign for Absa, and an even worse sign for the sons of bitches poachers, who now have a hundred-grand bounty tracking them.

Absa is in a lot of pain, and is currently being fed via a drip. Adding to that, says Searl, he is facing a myriad of challenges, from predators to bad weather to pneumonia.

What makes it worse is that the Chinese are ignorant.

One repeated misconception is that rhinoceros horn in powdered form is used as an aphrodisiac in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) as Cornu Rhinoceri Asiatici. It is, in fact, prescribed for fevers and convulsions. Neither have been proven by evidence-based medicine. [Wikipedia]

Stay strong, Absa.

Update

Sadly, Absa died. He was unable to fight the odds of a very swollen leg and missing horn. Take it easy, big boy. [Thursday, August 25, 2011]