Cecil: another version of that "Kony 2012" thing?

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D0gbert
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04 Aug 2015, 6:56 pm

I find the general public absolutely fascinating sometimes.

I was always aware of the endless poaching, habitat loss etc, many animal related stuff. This is one of my greatest interests. Heck, I hope my degree will one day help me work in this field.

So honestly, the whole Cecil got shot thing is not news, nor especially brutal (not to name any country, but the army used to join in with poaching, with MGs and grenades), though not suggesting we should not metaphorically crucify that trophy hunting prick.

But suddenly, everyone takes notice and becomes a f-ing conservation expert. Or at least tries to. The amount of... mindless knee-jerk opinions got on my nerves. I mean, the audacity! An armchair opinion-haver arguing with people who actually work in the fields of wildlife conservation?

Anyways, this incident really reminded me of the "Kony 2012", where again, people suddenly take notice of something that, while atrocious (though not THAT high in the scale of evil when compared to other monsters of the world, but I digress), had been actually happen since, what, 1986? And of course 99% of the general public in the West have forgotten him by now.

People are strange. They always requires a public outcry, a celebrity or something to either actually change or take notice. And they might forget about it in a couple of months or so, distracted but new phones and something.

Humans aren't that intelligent...



Factory Ten
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04 Aug 2015, 7:28 pm

A great comparison. Something I told my parents is that, before the lion hunting escapade in the media even started, I strongly doubted if most of the lemmings knew what Zimbabwe was, who Mugabe was, what Mugabe's government has done and will continue to do, and what Zimbabwe's people go through everyday including the outrageous inflation.

Pardon that run on sentence.



D0gbert
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04 Aug 2015, 9:56 pm

And the fact that legalised trophy hunting, where rich tossers pay to murder an animal, actually raised money. That's how some national parks in poor unstable countries get the funds to continue their work. Not to mention actually driving down poaching.

But thanks the the hysterical people, a lot of parks are planning to ban hunting altogether as appeasement. Many of these countries don't have a back-up plan on replacing that source of income.

Let the poaching commence!



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05 Aug 2015, 9:01 am

I don't have a lot to say on the matter, but I will say what I can. Cecil getting shot really shouldn't be news, but it is because he had a name and a tracking device so this lion is some how "special." Meanwhile in other nature preservation parks around the world. Animals are being poached, and no one bats an eye about that. Including other lions, that being said do I believe what Walter Palmer did was unnecessary and wrong? Yes, and he should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. What frightens me is that people have decided to take the law into their own hands. His information has been made public which led to people going to his house and business. Telling him to rot in hell, we should start hunting hunters, and the idea of tying steaks to him and dropping him in the middle of wildlife. Just to see how long he would last. His business is closed which denies him income, and people are okay with that even though it affects more than just Mr. Palmer. It also hurts the people who work with him in his office. This " mob justice " is only gong to hurt more people than it should. By costing them their ability to pay their bills and so on. Again no one really has a problem with this thought even though they are innocent in this whole affair.
PETA will undoubtedly try to vilify this man even if it is warranted. I've a feeling they will be over the top with it. * I just checked and why I'm not surprised :roll: http://www.peta.org/media/news-releases/peta-statement-zimbabwes-beloved-lion-cecil-gunned-down-by-american-dentisthunter/ * Even though they kill more animals annually than him although they will never admit to it. Because you know they're PETA and they love animals. My point being is that mob justice should not be how justice should be applied. My concern is if this behavior continues it will start to be normalized, and if that happens we're all in trouble.


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Wolfram87
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05 Aug 2015, 10:05 am

D0gbert wrote:
And the fact that legalised trophy hunting, where rich tossers pay to murder an animal, actually raised money. That's how some national parks in poor unstable countries get the funds to continue their work. Not to mention actually driving down poaching.

But thanks the the hysterical people, a lot of parks are planning to ban hunting altogether as appeasement. Many of these countries don't have a back-up plan on replacing that source of income.

Let the poaching commence!


This. All of the this.

I'm no fan of trophy hunters, but if some rich a-hole wants to pay oodles of money for a lion rug, money that will then go towards continuing the preservation effort for the rest of the pride, I say let him (but make him pay through both nostrils.). It will net him exactly zero respect among other (non-trophy)hunters and conservationists, especially since he apparently used a bow for hunting the lion, and then botched the shot... incompetent ass.


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Catlover5
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05 Aug 2015, 11:14 am

One thing I really don't like here is how people are saying "One lion gets shot and there is a huge outcry but there are millions of unborn babies getting killed and no-one bats an eyelid", or words to that effect. I find it rather hypocritical because it's like saying that animals are something less than humans, that the lives and well-being of animals is less valuable. Animals feel pain and wish to live and be loved just like we do. I believe that all life should be valued equally.



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05 Aug 2015, 11:43 am

Catlover5 wrote:
I believe that all life should be valued equally.


Then don't ever wash your hands again. I know this sentiment sounds nice, but it is poorly thought through and ultimately impossible in practice. Life sustains itself on the death of other life.


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Catlover5
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05 Aug 2015, 1:13 pm

Wolfram87 wrote:
Then don't ever wash your hands again. I know this sentiment sounds nice, but it is poorly thought through and ultimately impossible in practice. Life sustains itself on the death of other life.

I understand where you're coming from, but I do think animals should have as much rights that humans do as possible (e.g. not to be killed by a human just for fun/as a sport/etc.).



Wolfram87
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05 Aug 2015, 1:46 pm

Catlover5 wrote:
Wolfram87 wrote:
Then don't ever wash your hands again. I know this sentiment sounds nice, but it is poorly thought through and ultimately impossible in practice. Life sustains itself on the death of other life.

I understand where you're coming from, but I do think animals should have as much rights that humans do as possible (e.g. not to be killed by a human just for fun/as a sport/etc.).


I have no love for trophy hunters. "Sport hunter" is a term that's a bit more vague; a persons only personal interest in the hunt may be recreation, but if they hunt, say, boar in an overpopulated area, and sell/gift the meat to others, and conduct themselves as a proper hunter (that includes ethical and conservationist considerations), there's really nothing inherently wrong with it. There are a lot of thrilling aspects to hunting, not just a lot of shooting and killing.


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