Why are people hunting Lions in 2015?

             Why are people hunting lions in 2015? It’s not 19^th century, where the “Great White Hunter” would kill big game so the rest of the world could see the monsters of the Dark Continent. Stephen Hawking is busy warning us about the dangers of Artificial Intelligence and the Terminator and we’re still-hunting big game? Are lions rampaging and killing railroad workers like the Tsavo Man-Eaters? 

No, Cecil the lion was just being a lion, relaxing, maybe running, just existing. Unfortunately for him a cosmetic dentist from Bloomington, Minnesota with more money than sense decided Cecil would be his next trophy.

            Walter Palmer, our new great white hunter, loves to kill stuff. He LOVES it! You can find lots of pictures of him posing with his kills. His killing of Cecil is particularly tough to read because he lured him from the protected area he lived in, shot him with an arrow, and then tracked him for 40 hours before finishing him with a gun. Cecil was skinned and beheaded, his remains left behind.

            I understand hunting and it’s merits. I come from a family of hunters. I don’t have a problem with hunting as a means of population control. The people in my family that hunt use all parts of the animal and don’t kill indiscriminately. Hunting a lion is just unnecessary.  Especially when you lure it out of a protected wildlife park. And it’s not just lions; hunting elephants, leopards, tigers or rhinos is just as idiotic. I’m no doctor, but I’m pretty sure that rhino horn won’t help give you boners.

            I’m not sure what anyone can do with this guy. The most troubling thing is that he has a history of illegal hunting tactics. He’s been pinched several times in the past for sketchy bear hunting. He’s been fined and put on probation and he still hasn’t learned his lesson. Or maybe he has, he’s just taken his act overseas. Maybe we should give him back to Zimbabwe. I bet they can convince him to change his ways.