Opinion: Hunting lions needs to end
By Dereck Joubert, National Geographic
In the wake of Cecil the lion’s killing in Zimbabwe we are seeing real conversations about hunting: its viability and its ethics.
It has opened some tough discussions, like if we should all boycott Zimbabwe, or whether lion hunting is in any shape or form a viable conservation tool.
I don’t think it’s a good idea to boycott Zimbabwe. Thousands of local Zimbabweans live off photographic tourism and a range of other jobs that are not involved in hunting. Many of these people have chosen non-hunting industries because they already don’t like the business or ethics of hunting.
Just today I was filming some lions hunting zebras and I reflected on the difference between a hunting lion and a man hunting a lion. Both are undeniably violent acts. But one is necessary, the other is not. One is for food, the other is not. One involves no great celebration of death, one ends in high fives and alcohol celebrations and often some blooding rituals.
This Disneyland theory is always wrong. Large predators, if over-protected, become dangerous and the population will increase and be outside of the ability to maintain it from their available food supply and the real problems will start. The liberal media seems slow to report the lion that nearly ripped a lady’s head off when it attacked her and killed her in her car in South Africa recently. Predators at the top are always a danger. I am sure this lion that killed the woman didn’t have a cute name to use.
Always? Aren’t humans large predators at the top?
Justice, please tell us where and when in any of man’s history that:
A) large predators have been “over protected”.
B) Those “over protected” predators have caused a significant amount of human attacks, let alone deaths.
And for ships and giggles, tell me/us the one animal that is responsible for more human deaths on this entire planet than any other.
Justanass. Need I say more….
I’m surprised that the pathetically doltish birther/bagger didn’t blame President Obama for this horrific animal cruelty.
Can’t blame your president for this senseless trophy hunting. His accolades go to ruining our country, blatantly ignoring our Constitution and making us a joke of a country.
Toogee…I knew the answers to all of your proposed questions without having to look any up!
And yet kitty litter you continue to point fingers and blame.