White Hunter, Dumb Heart

Walter Palmer killed Cecil the Lion.  After paying around $54,000 to go to Zimbabwe and hunt a lion, Walter, an experienced big game hunter, shot Cecil with a bow and arrow; this after a series of missteps any responsible hunter would've seen as wrong.

First, let's talk about this type of hunting.  When hunting evolved, from a form of sustenance and shelter acquisition, becoming more of a hobby, it was wealthy people who romanticized the idea of man verses beast.  In North America, buffalo, bear, wolves and moose were all hunted.  In Africa, elephant, zebra, lion, and pretty much every other animal as well.  These animals were killed for sport; a trophy to hang on the wall, regaling visitors with (mostly made up) stories of man fighting for his life, with man winning in the end, a man who doesn't need to brag in conversation, instead, this man can just point to the wall and let the head of the beast he'd slain do the talking.

My cabin up north has the antiquated antlers of a moose, and a mounted deer head, on the wall, relics of an age from before US 53 was upgraded from the modest cow trail it used to be.  I don't know the story about them.  I didn't kill those animals, I don't know who did, I never would (I got my fill of guns in the military, thank you), and for the most part, the trophies are ignored, part of the mysticism of the cabin.  One thing I can definitively say; considering my family's love of venison and moose sausage, those animals didn't go to waste.

Modern trophy hunters are a laughable group.  They talk about the excitement of bagging big game, but in reality, they're killing something just to kill it.  In Africa, they insist the animal goes to the nearest tribe for food, something which is mostly untrue, a lie the hunters believe to make what they do seem less ghastly.  The modern big game hunter tries to follow in the footsteps of hunters of yore, making it seem as if they are stalking the beast, lucky to escape with their lives, when in reality, most of the animals are shot while investigating bait planted to entice them, or near domesticated animals, called out into the open for what they think is another helping of free food.  There is no honor here, only a misguided desire to brag.

Walter is a big game hunter, with extensive experience, and judging from an earlier incident in Wisconsin, he has experience with poaching too.  When he went to Zimbabwe to hunt, I assure you he had a laundry list of rules given to him he needed to follow, prior to his arrival.  Between his instructions and his experience, there are too many red flags to excuse any 'responsible hunter.'

• Giving Walter the benefit of the doubt, and listening to his assertions he knew nothing about Cecil being protected, considering the amount of time on this hunt, he should've been very alarmed by the amount of planning going on he wasn't included in.  He did pay a lot of money.  He should've been in the loop.  A responsible hunter would have made sure they understood the hunt as it played out.
• This hunt happened at night, and from what I've understood, it's illegal to hunt lions at night in Zimbabwe.  A responsible hunter would have immediately insisted on holding off on the hunt until daylight hours.
• If the allegations of the hunting party using Cecil's tracking collar, to pinpoint him in the preserve and eventually lure him out, are true, and if Walter knew anything about it, it was a monster red flag any responsible hunter should have caught.
• It would've been very clear to most people, especially to the hunting guides, where the edge of the preserve was.  If his hunting party was trying to lure ANY animal off of it, a responsible hunter would have said no.
• A responsible hunter would've frowned on the idea of baiting an animal with food for an easy kill.  This means both tying meat to a car and driving it around to lure an animal from safety, or making a pile of food on the ground, so an animal to becomes an easy target.
• A responsible hunter would've recognized the collar on the animal before they took the shot.  A collar tells the hunter the animal he's targeting is being monitored for some reason.
• But all this aside, after tracking a mortally wounded Cecil for 40 hours, when they found him, a responsible hunter clearly should've realized their mistake with the collared animal, immediately calling the authorities to report their accidental kill.  A responsible hunter wouldn't have cut the collar off the animal, removed its head and hide, and then quickly left the country.

This wasn't hunting, this was poaching, plan and simple.  Walter should be required to return to Zimbabwe and answer for this atrocity.

For the record, I think this guy is lying his ass off.  I think he so wanted to kill a lion, he didn't care which one it was.  He paid his money, so come hell or high water, he was going to get one. I think he thought he'd be safe upon returning to Minnesota.  We has wrong.  That's my opinion.

We need to stop trophy hunting.  It's killing something just because we can, something we surely don't need to prove anymore.  It's not a sport, it's a cry for help.

One last note:  I get it outrage guy.  Cecil the Lion isn't the most important story today.  Why are we outraged about Cecil when there are so many, far more horrible things going on?  I don't know why a story like this takes off, but being bitter and angry about a 'lesser' story getting coverage is not the way to get people to care about your issue.