Perfectly fine things to consider before leaping to denunciations, in general - but which of them do you think reflect actual problems with this instance? We’ve got the right guy, it’s pretty clear what he did (it’s less clear how much he knew about some of the details, though if he wasn’t aware he probably also wasn’t trying to be), and this thread is full of people debating the nuances. So, other than generalized lofty sneering, what was your point?
7 Likes
Eh, twist my arm, I guess you’re right, it all sounds plenty depraved, the way you describe it. My capacity for empathy is prob’ly pretty finite, anyway, so why should I spare any for this prat? …And if all the opprobrium he’s reaping contributes to diminishing the appeal of such quests, then great.
Still, I don’t s’pose I’ll work too hard at keeping the screws to him, either. Have at it!
“I didn’t know it was a beloved, collared lion that was part of a research project until after the hunt.”
…but then I got the fuck out of there like a shadow in the fucking night.
3 Likes
Well one thing is for sure. This guy is
… probably hating his life choices right about now. This is major national (maybe even international?) news material.
If I was this guy I’d move and change my name.
Killing for food: apple. Killing for fun: orange.
The first is ethically questionable. The second is ethically indefensible.
2 Likes
Right, National Park, what ever nomenclature - a protected area. Yes there are no fences and when animals leave the park they end up encountering humans. I don’t know the situation of every area, but I have read about places in Kenya where around 5-6 lions a year are poisoned by locals who have lions kill one of their cows. That was just one area, multiply that by the various reserves over Kenya and the rest of Africa. Last I read they were sitting up programs to pay locals for lost live stock vs having them go after the lions.
If Cecil was still breeding (from what I read he’s rather old to still be the dominant lion, but I also heard he did recently father cubs), he would have no reason to venture too far. It is the beta males that don’t have a pride that wander out in search of their own group of females they could mate with. Alot of times these lions will form small groups and later take over a pride. So it does happen where they leave the area in search of their own territory. I don’t know why that lion was targets specifically, or if he even was. I imagine they didn’t have the proper permits for a legal hunt, and instead of waiting in the hopes one would wander of the park, they lured one.
Also, lions are kinda dicks about things. If a pride gets a new dominant male or group of males, they will kill all the cubs they can, sending the females in to heat. And females are know to kill cubs of other prides.
1 Like
Does target shooting count as a sport? Because the targets cannot win.
Thought. What to think about the internet shame mobs that kill people’s careers for sports?
There must be something intoxicating in the shared righteous wrath.
2 Likes
http://mashable.com/2015/07/29/walter-palmer-cecil-lion-digital-mob/
Because the enemy here isn’t the hateful, sad figure of Dr. Walter Palmer. The enemy is illegal hunting and poaching. In this realm, the game is very much afoot.
TL;DR stop lynch mobbing and donate to http://wildcru.org/ instead. Same kind of thing I do with gun control arguments. I’ve long since learned to shut the fuck up and donate to gun control efforts.
7 Likes
I’ve hunted, killed, and eaten deer. Wild game is the most ethical of all meats. If you eat any meat and criticize hunters who harvest meat, you’re both an idiot and hypocrite.
Hunting for the thrill of murder - and leaving the animal to rot - is clinically, fucking sick. Cats aren’t good meat (except the blackstrap, I hear) so don’t shoot them for sport.
Note, I do enjoy the suffering of wasps/yellow jackets in my scent/sticky traps, so maybe I’m a hypocrite.
Also, this douche’s voicemail box is full, FYI.
2 Likes
Yep. If for some reason everyone decides to leave his dental practice because of the news, they and whatever patients didn’t decide to leave are totally going to be out of options for dental work. Or scenario b: dentist gets taken down and can’t afford to keep up his practice…
I had a very good doctor decide to leave the business after he was diagnosed with AIDS. I miss him, and I still have options. What exactly is your point?
My point, though obscured by excessive sarcasm, is that it’s absurd for the author to attempt to measure his level of remorse from a letter sent to his patients to address their need for care. It wasn’t a press release. I don’t condone what happened but in our rush to shame this guy as the most evil person in the world, the responsible actions of a doctor who is unable to see his patients becomes misconstrued as further proof of his inhumanity.
1 Like
The “Dentist’s email apology” story is the fourth most read item on the BBC news site right now: the BBC has given the story plenty of coverage, including background on hunting and internet shaming.
MY dentist makes ships in a bottle and couldn’t see me the other day because he was at a MODEL-BUILDING CONFERENCE! The outrage!!! But I am pretty sure he didn’t kill anything. So I’ll keep him.
6 Likes
What difference does it make to the discussion whether we call hunting a sport or an activity? In many cases (not this one) it can certainly be called a necessity.
I know. I tried to call you, man, to complain about the pile of rotting bones in your back yard, and can’t get through.
1 Like
Speaking of facts, African lions aren’t Endangered. A proposal was made recently to give them Threatened status, but it hasn’t happened yet.
2 Likes
Britain Facebook confirms that “American Dentist” is already a dark comedic shorthand for … other things.
5 Likes
The “known lion” part and the banded part don’t matter to me. Anyone who pays money to go to another country and kill animals is an asshole that deserves to be exposed as such. He’s not suffering enough, I wish the rest of the assholes who weren’t unlucky enough to kill a so-called special animal would get the same treatment. Hunt for food. Hunt to “cull” in your own backyard if absolutely necessary (thought I can’t imagine wanting to associate with anyone who actually thought that was anything but a horrible necessity, not a fun leisure activity). But paying huge sums to fly to another country so you can pose in front of dead animals you killed from a distance with high powered weapons is the sign of a fucking psychopath, no matter what bullshit rationale they give. Somebody should make a national registry of these sadistic bastards so I can check before doing business with any of them, whether they did it legally or not.
7 Likes
