Cecil the Lion

Cecil the Lion

An op-ed piece for those who feel they have a valid opinion on the subject of big game hunting on the continent of Africa.

1. Do not take 1st world views and values and place them in the 3rd world and expect your moral outrage to mean anything. Unless you've been boots on the ground in Africa, and have seen firsthand the imbalance between the money a country spends ( or doesn't) on it's people, and what hunting brings in, and directly assists, just shut up...period...full stop.

2. The amount of money that hunters bring to regions devastated by poverty, outstrips any and all funding that is funneled through animal rights and conservation groups. How much did PETA spend in Africa last year? ZERO. How much did PETA spend on marketing, and photo-shopping ads and marketing pieces in support of their views? MILLIONS. Each hunter that lands in a region contributes $15-20K directly through license fees, this is not including any accommodation expenses, direct compensation to local businesses, nor the fact that many Africans can not afford to hunt, yet foreign hunters are compelled to donate the meat and products from game animals for local consumption.

3. The world is not Walt Disney. Animals do not have names. That is a North American affectation that we place on them. It personalizes, and humanizes that which is not. The lion in question was just that....a wild lion. Not endangered, as some would attest, not a local favorite, as many would assert. Simply a wild lion. Collared...yes, and off limits as he was part of a study, yes.

4. Lions are not endangered. In fact, in many African countries their deaths bring joy to villages that live near their populations. There are many African people who know at least one person with a lion attack story....many do not end well. No one living in Africa is weeping for the death of this lion, except those few who have seen an opportunity to exploit North American guilt.

5. The fault is not with the Dentist who made the shot. He arrowed the lion, then as part of an ethical hunt, spent a very long period of time tracking his quarry. He did so under direction of his guide. The fault lies with the guide, not the hunter. The rules in many countries for foreign hunters are expressly that a hunter must use a professional guide, so that all rules and regs are adhered to. In this case, the guide erred, but why villianize a poor native Zimbabwean, when the world press can crucify a white American dentist.

6. There has been much discussed about the head and cape that was taken. Well folks, in the hunting world, if you wish to have a mount done be it moose, deer, bear, or any other game animal, you take the head and cape, which the taxidermist then uses.

7. As reprehensible, and offensive as some may find the act of hunting on safari, or taking trophys. The fact remains that it actually has done more for wildlife population controls, and in fact improvements, than any other group on this Earth. When a value has been placed on licenses and tags, the governments of those nations also put a focus on population protection, and preservation. This includes the prosecution of poachers.

If you take issue with any of these arguments, that's fine. Do the world a favour, shut up, and get off your wallet and do something about it....talk is cheap, so is your moral outrage at non-facts as reported by the media.