Lost lion: American hunter draws reprisals for hunting incident

If you heard the story this morning about Cecil the lion, you probably gasped a bit -- especially if you are one of those people who loves animals.

What a senseless act. What a loss.

The beloved lion had been a celebrity in Zimbabwe for more than a decade -- and in one fatal encounter with an American hunter who paid $50,000 to go on a big game hunt -- he was gone.

He did not go easy -- severely injured first, he was tracked until he was shot dead.

How sad.

Turns out the lion was lured from a protected game preserve and that is how he became sport for the hunter, who claims he thought the hunt was legal and who said he did not know of the lion's fame.

He says he trusted his guides and they, not he, violated the law.

OK, fine. But really?

The animal's carcass was skinned and his head removed -- very likely as a trophy of the "big game kill."

How pathetic.

Here's the bottom line -- there is nothing wrong with responsible hunting, especially when it is done by responsible individuals. In some cases, it is necessary to keep some populations of animals down.

Many hunters use the meat from their kills or donate it to help feed the hungry. They do not waste it. And the hunts they pursue are fair fights -- in the wild, not in an artificially controlled -- or contrived -- environment.

Many hunters, in fact, are great admirers of animals and the natural world and work to protect them.

To pay an exorbitant amount of money -- which anyone who has it is free to do -- to track a big game kill just to put a trophy on your wall to massage your ego is in a word -- shameful.

If he wants to atone, the "big game hunter" should take another $50,000, and put it to wildlife conservation -- with emphasis on catching violators like the guides he employed.

That way Cecil can rest in peace.

Published in Editorials on July 29, 2015 11:13 AM