Killing the Shepherd

Beyond the Film

By: Tom Opre

Narrated by: Tom Opre

Filmmaker Tom Opre dedicated over three years to documenting the lives of a remote community in Zambia led by a woman chief who dared to break the bonds of poverty by waging war on wildlife poaching.

For generations, the people survived by living off the land, which included eating a small amount of game. They worked hand in hand with the safari hunting industry, which helped pay for wildlife protection and provided hard cash to this community. But in 2001 and 2002, the Zambian government banned safari hunting, creating a vacuum. The land soon became filled by well-organized bush meat poaching gangs.

The wildlife was decimated over the next 15 years.

Once, the area held Africa’s big five–elephant, lion, leopard, cape buffalo, and rhino. Now, almost all those animals, along with a multitude of plains game, were gone. No safari hunting operator would even consider committing funds to a “game-depleted” concession with no legal hunting quota. The people had no hope.

But the people of Shikabeta were led by a wise chief. She knew she needed a safari operator in her area. She cast her net and found Roland Norton, an import/export customs dealer who had spent a lifetime dreaming of running a safari concession.

From 2017 through 2020, filmmaker Tom Opre documented an unusual business agreement, including the complexities, heartaches, and successes, which led to astonishing results for wildlife and, most importantly, the community.

Incredible stories are often left on the cutting room floor during film editing. Killing the Shepherd: Beyond the Film delves more profound than any film. Gritty and raw, this book will take the listener through a transformative process providing hope for the future of Africa’s wildlife. It also provides a blueprint enabling rural communities throughout the dark continent to realize their most basic human rights.

©2023 Tom Opre (P)2023 Tom Opre

Should Be Required Reading

This book/audiobook should be a part of school curriculums and required reading for students and elected officials hoping to shape fish and wildlife conservation policies. Tom dives into some of the intimate stories behind the making of his successful film - many of which are take-home learning lessons that anyone in the hook and bullet community would learn a great deal from. The pace of this book flows well, so I finished it in about two days. A great must-read!