Cecil

[Popeye_Card]

I don't completely get the extreme level of internet angst directed at the dentist. The folks that run the illegal hunting operation, sure. But this is an activity that Ernest Hemingway would have enjoyed the [expletive] out of, minus the $50k price tag. I'm guessing a reasonable percentage of the outraged internetists love them some Hemingway.

[ghostrunner]

So, how many elephants were slaughtered during today's Internet outrage?

To me it's just the victory pictures with all the rare and powerful animals. My gut reaction is "who the hell do you think you are?" The world is not a place where one needs to hunt for food anymore, but this isn't even that. I'm not impressed that someone paid a bunch of money and arranged a "hunt", shot an animal, then beheaded it and left the carcass there. It's just douchebag behavior. Maybe this dentist is craving adventure, but I question how this equates to adventure. Even worse are all those weird hunting "parks" people pay for in Texas and elsewhere. "Here, we've released a wild animal on this confined property for you to shoot....Okay, great job, hold the head up and say 'cheese'."

And also - I don't know if you're joking about the elephants - this seems like saying "why worry about a police shooting in the US when dozens are being killed every day in Syria or Sudan."

[Molly]

I don't completely get the extreme level of internet angst directed at the dentist. The folks that run the illegal hunting operation, sure. But this is an activity that Ernest Hemingway would have enjoyed the [expletive] out of, minus the $50k price tag. I'm guessing a reasonable percentage of the outraged internetists love them some Hemingway.

The level of angst, internet and otherwise, is based on the fact that the lion was lured out of a protected sanctuary, shot with a bow & arrow, did not die but suffered for 40 hours before being shot with a rifle, skinned and beheaded.

I would be willing to bet that anything Ernest Hemingway killed was wild and not living in a protected area. And I wouldn't have agreed with that either.

[MrSaigon]

So, how many elephants were slaughtered during today's Internet outrage?

To me it's just the victory pictures with all the rare and powerful animals. My gut reaction is "who the hell do you think you are?" The world is not a place where one needs to hunt for food anymore, but this isn't even that. I'm not impressed that someone paid a bunch of money and arranged a "hunt", shot an animal, then beheaded it and left the carcass there. It's just douchebag behavior. Maybe this dentist is craving adventure, but I question how this equates to adventure. Even worse are all those weird hunting "parks" people pay for in Texas and elsewhere. "Here, we've released a wild animal on this confined property for you to shoot....Okay, great job, hold the head up and say 'cheese'."

And also - I don't know if you're joking about the elephants - this seems like saying "why worry about a police shooting in the US when dozens are being killed every day in Syria or Sudan."

I'm mad about Cecil too. This was a poor poke at Internet outrage. Cecil will be forgotten by Saturday. How often are lions killed on safari? If an elephant slaughter happened just once because rich Chinese people want ivory accents in their home, the Internet would blow up. But that happens everyday, so the outrage machine can't process it. Tigers will be extinct very soon, in part because people in some places think their body parts will give them virility. It's just frustrating when things aren't actual issues, but a great opportunity to show how developed we are by getting super angry (and I'm certainly guilty of this myself).

I don't know. Hopefully a few actual converts are made from the Cecil thing. And maybe the outrage machine is actually really good for that, and better than whatever preceded it.

[ghostrunner]

So, how many elephants were slaughtered during today's Internet outrage?

To me it's just the victory pictures with all the rare and powerful animals. My gut reaction is "who the hell do you think you are?" The world is not a place where one needs to hunt for food anymore, but this isn't even that. I'm not impressed that someone paid a bunch of money and arranged a "hunt", shot an animal, then beheaded it and left the carcass there. It's just douchebag behavior. Maybe this dentist is craving adventure, but I question how this equates to adventure. Even worse are all those weird hunting "parks" people pay for in Texas and elsewhere. "Here, we've released a wild animal on this confined property for you to shoot....Okay, great job, hold the head up and say 'cheese'."

And also - I don't know if you're joking about the elephants - this seems like saying "why worry about a police shooting in the US when dozens are being killed every day in Syria or Sudan."

I'm mad about Cecil too. This was a poor poke at Internet outrage. Cecil will be forgotten by Saturday. How often are lions killed on safari? If an elephant slaughter happened just once because rich Chinese people want ivory accents in their home, the Internet would blow up. But that happens everyday, so the outrage machine can't process it. Tigers will be extinct very soon, in part because people in some places think their body parts will give them virility. It's just frustrating when things aren't actual issues, but a great opportunity to show how developed we are by getting super angry (and I'm certainly guilty of this myself).

I don't know. Hopefully a few actual converts are made from the Cecil thing.

Also, there's an ugly American aspect to it. Some embarrassment that "we" are responsible.

[Popeye_Card]

I don't completely get the extreme level of internet angst directed at the dentist. The folks that run the illegal hunting operation, sure. But this is an activity that Ernest Hemingway would have enjoyed the [expletive] out of, minus the $50k price tag. I'm guessing a reasonable percentage of the outraged internetists love them some Hemingway.

The level of angst, internet and otherwise, is based on the fact that the lion was lured out of a protected sanctuary, shot with a bow & arrow, did not die but suffered for 40 hours before being shot with a rifle, skinned and beheaded.

I would be willing to bet that anything Ernest Hemingway killed was wild and not living in a protected area. And I wouldn't have agreed with that either.

Minus the illegality of killing this particular protected animal, you just described normal trophy hunting. It is a sport that many rich white guys enjoy, and have enjoyed for centuries. Including Hemingway, who in addition to loving trophy hunting was a huge fan of bullfighting--one of the most barbaric and cruel sports in the world.

I personally do not enjoy these activities. I can certainly see that other people do not like that they happen. But holy crap, did the internet world not know this was going on until a rich white dentist killed a lion for sport?

[Joe Shlabotnik]

All 512 animals Teddy Roosevelt and his son killed on safari.

[ghostrunner]

I don't completely get the extreme level of internet angst directed at the dentist. The folks that run the illegal hunting operation, sure. But this is an activity that Ernest Hemingway would have enjoyed the [expletive] out of, minus the $50k price tag. I'm guessing a reasonable percentage of the outraged internetists love them some Hemingway.

The level of angst, internet and otherwise, is based on the fact that the lion was lured out of a protected sanctuary, shot with a bow & arrow, did not die but suffered for 40 hours before being shot with a rifle, skinned and beheaded.

I would be willing to bet that anything Ernest Hemingway killed was wild and not living in a protected area. And I wouldn't have agreed with that either.

Minus the illegality of killing this particular protected animal, you just described normal trophy hunting. It is a sport that many rich white guys enjoy, and have enjoyed for centuries. Including Hemingway, who in addition to loving trophy hunting was a huge fan of bullfighting--one of the most barbaric and cruel sports in the world.

I personally do not enjoy these activities. I can certainly see that other people do not like that they happen. But holy crap, did the internet world not know this was going on until a rich white dentist killed a lion for sport?

I think that's a weak argument. A lot of things used to be acceptable. And Hemingway was a better writer than a person.

It's not the first time this kind of thing has been in the news though. Google Corey Knowlton. This one is a particularly egregious example, and it's an American that did it. Hard for us to control what African poachers do outside of not buying the products, but our own people? I think it's good to publicly expose it and denounce it.

[tlombard]

My friend (real friend, not just Facebook level) is about to head to Hwange to finish her PhD and was supposed to work using Cecil's GPS data. She's a super conservationist, spends extended time in rain forests saving panthers and what not, and wrote a really well informed and balanced post on the weird conservationist relationship with trophy hunting.

She was obviously aghast and saddened by this illegal hunt, but I didn't realize the percentage of conservation funds that come from auctioned trophy hunting licenses.

I think I saw something yesterday that talked about the subject and said that since white rhino hunting was legalized through special permits the population has grown from a few hundred to 11,000 or so. Part of it is the money the hunters bring in being used for conservation but apparently land owners who run safaris also started making efforts to reintroduce them to their land so they could have a population that people would pay to hunt on their land. So in some cases letting these fools hunt animals for 'sport' the population actually grows and is better off. I still think these guys are complete a-holes but at the same time, if their money is being used for the overall good of the population... I have a hard time being too upset at the practice even though I will mock the people who participate.

Being a hypocrite with respect to these things is so much more fun.

[MrSaigon]

Hemingway was also a big fan of Hemingway hunting, but suicide is still selfish.