I don't think we have all the facts. The media no longer exists to report facts, their goal is to stir the pot to elicit an emotional reaction. From what I've gathered, the dentist claims he didn't know it was collared until they approached the dead lion. Could he be covering his tracks? Maybe. But, we have no idea what the guides told him or if they duped him into thinking it was ok to shoot the lion. It's unfortunate that people are giving out his home address and he'll forever be looking over his shoulder. This is Kendall Jones all over again... If there is some way that we find out what really happened and there was negligent purposeful wrong doing, then maybe some form of punishment will be placed on him and the guides.
Well they did try to hide the collar after the act. So that itself is a purposeful wrong doing and deserves some form of penalty or punishment. But he certainly doesn't deserve death threats and his life being ruined through the media.
I've never seen the appeal in a guided African hunt. You shell out an incredible amount of money just to pull the trigger after someone else has done all the work. This isn't hunting, and for that reason I don't really care for the guy. However, of course he doesn't deserve all this negative attention.
The "safari" hunt my neighbor went on was a little different than this, I think. My neighbor showed up with a couple species in mind. The guides took him out and said, "That's a blue wildebeest. It'd cost $2000." They'd drive a little further and he'd say, "That's a gemsbok. It'd cost $1500." Basically it sounds like you pay as you go based on what you want to shoot.
All of this is speculation and unfounded allegations. The original story and posting was made by a pro-conservation group and not any official governing body from Zimbabwe. There's been zero hard evidence that they tried to hide the fact the lion was collared nor is it a crime to shoot a collared lion provided you're on private land and have the proper permits. Of course this is where things begin to get dicey. Did they or did they not have permits for this hunt? That still remains to be seen. This entire thing is an unfortunate series of events for the hunting community as a whole. The dentist has a bit of a questionable past in regards to hunting which strips his ability to get the benefit of the doubt in whether or not he knew what was going on. The lion had a name and is being made out to be some sort of celebrity; the initial shot was not clean and thus required follow-up with a rifle; and so on down the line. The entire thing is a wet dream for the anti-hunting community, especially on the heals of Kendall Jones, Corey Knowles and other recent news stories. The sad part is that even if it comes out that proper permits were secured and everything was 100% legal, the damage has already been done. The public's perception of hunting, specifically trophy hunting and hunting with a bow and arrow, is once again tarnished and we're left to defend something that shouldn't need defending. People's lives are ruined and you have the head of Peta calling for Palmer to be "hanged" over something that amounts to a bunch of unproven allegations over the killing of a single animal. In the meantime ISIS is still beheading Christians, Planned Parenthood is selling aborted baby parts and dozens of people are being shot dead in the streets of Chicago every weekend. Yet somehow this is all swept under the rug and we're made to believe it's not an issue we should be concerned with. No sir. Better figure out why this lion was killed first, then we'll worry about everything else later. If we're still alive of course.
I agree with Justin, it's amazing how people can get so carried away about a story that has absolutely zero impact on the world, yet they bury their head in the sand and ignore situations that are tearing this world apart. Just plain blows my mind.
I vote we nominate Justin for President! What a clear headed--- on the money statement his post was... We need that kind of people leading our country!
So he deserves punishment even if legally killing a collared animal in a legal area? Just because something is collared doesn't mean it's illegal. Covering up the fact that he was collared *may* be the equivalent of someone hiding the fact that they killed a deer over a legal bait pile, that's not punishable by law LOL. There are plenty of collared animals killed every year, none of which results in punishment. Before saying he needs punishment for this or that, we need to know the law about killing a collared animal in the area it was killed and what actually happened. If the guides lured the lion with a carcass dragged by a car in the middle of the night but Palmer didn't know, is that his fault? He's relying on the guides being legal and legitimate. If he has the proper license and tags, during the right season, with a legal weapon, etc, then there's no reason to believe he purposefully did something illegal.
Well they took the collar off and at least through it the bushes. Now whether or not they tried to destroy it, you have to take the Conservations groups word on that. No doubt Bravo. Spot on.
The thing in media forgets is Cecil is a wild animal, he's tame from your TV screen. If you happen to be in the area when Cecil gets hungry, we'll you're dinner. It's easy to think a lion is cuddle and gentle from your living room. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
This article is great. The acting Zimbabwean info minister didn't even know who Cecil was. This whole thing is completely overblown. http://news.yahoo.com/lion-zimbabweans-ask-amid-global-cecil-circus-140822692.html Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
He was to busy eating his baby elephant to care what happens to a lion. LOL http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...s-eats-baby-elephant-at-lavish-birthday-bash/
Cameron Hanes and Joe Rogan talk about the incident https://youtu.be/rp0i0UI5idg Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Hands down one of the best video commentaries I've seen about this situation, and really hunting in general. If you're a hunter this video is certainly worth 40 minutes of your time to watch.
agreed... even if you're not a hunter, but eat meat, there are simple facts and points they hit on, that while tangential, are necessary in the broad scope of their argument/their subject. while I personally would never pay a lot of money to go to Africa to hunt charismatic megafauna (I might feel differently if I could actually afford it though), it has its place in the hunting world. Even within the hunting community, there is plenty of controversy about methods that can be legal in particular areas, but not others - baiting particular species for example, or the ethics of fenced hunting. If the guy broke laws in Africa, he should be held accountable. nobody would even consider defending his specific actions publicly if he indeed broke the law. But, we as hunters, will be continually challenged and sometimes asked to defend or justify hunting in North America as a general practice in the future.
Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood is brokering fetus parts and the liberal media sweeps it under the rug with stories about Donald Trump and trophy hunting dentists.
