The killing of the iconic lion Cecil was more than a tragedy, it was a perfect example of the level of detachment rich people have with the rest of the world. Remember when a few years ago King Juan Carlos of Spain was in the middle of a controversy because he went out shooting an elephant? Has there not been stories in the past of the British royal family going hunting for trophies in the heart of Africa?
Is it easier to condemn a rich dentist than a member of some royal family? Is it the fame of the animal killed that brought so much attention to this story? The fact is, this is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to hunting for large animals.
As far as I can tell, there are 4 purposes for hunting an animal:
– food
– sport
– horns and hooves for "alternate" medicines
– "pest control"
The first one is typically done within a set of very strict rules and most hunters do bring back the animal to feed other people. It targets a very specific set of animals, none of which are carnivores.
The second is the one that tends to be mediatised a lot. It includes the like of Fox hunting, lion and elephant hunting in Africa and typically involves high profile celebrities who don't know what to do with their millions (hint: Africa also has poor starving people, heck, the UK does too)
The third is one you only see in the media as a footnote wrapped in numbers but it is the main cause of decimation of animals such as the black African rhino. This one is usually done with poaching rather than hunting but to be honest, between poaching and sport hunting I don't see much difference. Sadly as long as millions of people in China are willing to pay big money for a rhino horn just to be more performant in bed, the tragedy will continue to unfold.
Finally, the last one isn't really hunting either, more summary executions and it is the closest issue to my heart as it often involves the execution of wolves.
Are we really feeling safer by being at the top of the food chain? What difference is there between a rich dentist killing and beheading a lion and radical Daesh followers beheading hostages? Is it not simply reverting to a demonstration of supremacy through killing? In the 21st century, you would have thought humanity had managed to evolve a lot more than this.
So yes, be outraged at the death of Cecil, but don't forget the elephants, the tigers, the wolves and all the large predators people kill because it's fun or because they need to compensate for something.
Embedded Link
Petition: Demand Justice for Cecil the Lion, Killed in Zimbabwe!
This beloved lion was tragically shot by a Minnesota dentist who paid $55,000 to do so. (512761 signatures on petition)
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