Big Game Hunting

The fury of social media has been unleashed upon a cosmetic dentist in Minnesota. Apparently, the dentist is said to have killed a popular male lion, Cecil, during a big game hunt. Zimbabwe, a country known for these excursions, has now launched a global hunt for Dr. Walter Palmer for poaching lions. Palmer has had to shut down his office and has received numerous death threats.

Warning: The link includes pics of Dr. Palmer's big game hits and are upsetting. They include a lion, a leopard, an elk and a rhinoceros.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/zimbabwe/11767119/Cecil-the-lions-killer-revealed-as-American-dentist.html

Dr. Palmer is going to find it difficult to hide from the furious masses. While I certainly don't support hunting him down and doing him harm, I can't find any sympathy for the guy.

I think lion hunting should be legal, but only with a knife.

I don't see how anyone gets pleasure out of killing anything "for fun" or "for sport" - if he wants to hunt animals, let him get himself an expensive camera and go on photo safaris. He'll have an image to show and the animal would still be alive.

If he were my dentist and I read this story, he would very quickly be my ex-dentist.

I heard an interview with the author of this book on the radio. Very interesting if you have the time.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/19/books/review/jon-ronsons-so-youve-been-publicly-shamed.html?_r=0

If the animal was outside the park he was outside the park. Shooting a collard animal is generally a no no but I would think it would be hard to tell with a male lion.

Apparently the collar was removed after shooting and the lion was lured/baited off the park for the specific purpose of killing it. Also, it wasn't any old lion, apparently, but one that was well known and loved by many in the country.

They baited the lion out of the park. He then shot it with a bow and arrow injuring it and then followed/hunted it down for 40 hours before shooting it with a rifle. There was no mistake here. This guy should be imprisoned in the harshest of circumstances.

GGartrell said:
If the animal was outside the park he was outside the park. Shooting a collard animal is generally a no no but I would think it would be hard to tell with a male lion.

Someone else was outed as a game hunter (not big game, but domestic hunting). I believe it was Ed Schultz from MSNBC.

But domestic hunting is often legal. This wasn't.

This from Ishaan Tharoor on Twitter:

One American kills one lion overseas...
OUTRAGE

Unknown # of US drones kill unknown # of innocent civilians overseas...
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I can only hope that this sumnabitch's dental practice falls apart and that his testicles are attacked and chewed off by a tame animal.

Not only did he kill this lion but the lion cubs belonging to that pride are now likely to be killed.

Also - he's a convicted poacher. He illegally killed a bear in Wisconsin so I have no doubt he was completely aware and probably encouraged the local guides to lure Cecil out of the park.

I'm hugging my cat tonight.

Sickening. I do take heart that this 'man''s life as he knew it is over and he is a pariah who probably has to go into hiding for a while for his own safety.

I saw the number of his dental practice posted on Facebook earlier and I called. I wasn't gonna rage or anything, I just wanted to ask whoever answered, calmly, reasonably and even politely, WTF.But not surprisingly, I couldn't get through, all circuits were busy or something.

Now's he claiming he was misled and thought it was legal... Of course...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2015/07/28/american-dentist-says-he-regrets-killing-cecil-the-lion-believed-zimbabwe-hunt-was-legal/

With respect...this doesn't lessen my outrage at this person's actions. We can have different outrage for different atrocities without either being shortchanged. We shouldn't aim to reduce our outrage at particular things with outrage at another thing, right?

FC_ said:
This from Ishaan Tharoor on Twitter:
One American kills one lion overseas...
OUTRAGE
Unknown # of US drones kill unknown # of innocent civilians overseas...
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

TigerLilly said:
With respect...this doesn't lessen my outrage at this person's actions. We can have different outrage for different atrocities without either being shortchanged. We shouldn't aim to reduce our outrage at particular things with outrage at another thing, right?

FC_ said:
This from Ishaan Tharoor on Twitter:
One American kills one lion overseas...
OUTRAGE
Unknown # of US drones kill unknown # of innocent civilians overseas...
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I agree with you (as usual). Both of these situations are horrible.

But I think we can have different levels of outrage for hundreds of humans being murdered vs one lion being murdered.

And I think Tharoor's point is that many of the people who are up in arms about the lion are not up in arms about the hundreds of people.

Negative reviews on Yelp

http://www.yelp.com/biz/walter-j-palmer-dds-minneapolis

Also, you can sign a petition to deport him to Zimbabwe for trial:

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/extradite-minnesotan-walter-james-palmer-face-justice-zimbabwe

TigerLilly said:
They baited the lion out of the park. He then shot it with a bow and arrow injuring it and then followed/hunted it down for 40 hours before shooting it with a rifle. There was no mistake here. This guy should be imprisoned in the harshest of circumstances.

GGartrell said:
If the animal was outside the park he was outside the park. Shooting a collard animal is generally a no no but I would think it would be hard to tell with a male lion.

Not only did they kill this lion but they watch him die slowly for 40 hours. They likely hit him in the gut with the bow and arrow and his own body killed him slowly. To track a dying animal for 40 hours... waiting for him to die so that you can cut his head and skin him? He knew what he was doing. Otherwise, why not go to the authorities once he saw the collar? Instead he likely has a lovely trophy hanging on a wall somewhere.

Can you imagine how savage he may be as a dentist? I would never go back to his office after finding this out.

BTW, the NY Times printed a glowing article on him in '09. In the sports section, of all places.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/13/sports/13elk.html?_r=2&

According to the news last night, Cecil was an old, beloved and protected lion who was lured out of his sanctuary with food just as poachers do. The two other men who were with Palmer were charged with poaching. The way in which they wounded him and hunted him down for 40 hours is sickening. An animal advocate said that if lions are hunted, they can become extinct. And as eliz said, not only did Palmer kill this lion but the lion cubs belonging to that pride are now likely to be killed. The pictures of Palmer beaming with the pathetic Cecil and his other kills is sickening.

Kimmel had a great monologue about this last night

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LzXpE1mjqA

And then mentioned & posted the website of the conservation group that had been tracking the lion and encouraged people to donate as a possible positive action in response:

www.wildcru.org

Hunting is a repugnant, cowardly endeavor.

I really do wish the lion had eaten this imbecile.

GGartrell said:
If the animal was outside the park he was outside the park. Shooting a collard animal is generally a no no but I would think it would be hard to tell with a male lion.

Oxford University was tracking Cecil. A report I read states that Palmer removed the collar and tried to destroy it.

mlj said:
According to the news last night, Cecil was an old, beloved and protected lion who was lured out of his sanctuary with food just as poachers do. The two other men who were with Palmer were charged with poaching. They way in which they wounded him and hunted him down for 40 hours is sickening. An animal advocate said that if lions are hunted, they can become extinct. And as eliz said, not only did Palmer kill this lion but the lion cubs belonging to that pride are now likely to be killed. The pictures of Palmer beaming with the pathetic Cecil and his other kills is sickening.

This is just horrible. There is now concern over Cecil's cubs who may now be destroyed by nomadic lions looking to take over Cecil's pride. One reason why lions are so beloved is that they are the only big cats that live within family social structures. Not to mention that they are the most iconic animal in the world. From one end of the earth to the other, the world is filled with images of the lion, symbol of majestic power.

melmm, thank you for the video and website.

yahooyahoo said:
I heard an interview with the author of this book on the radio. Very interesting if you have the time.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/19/books/review/jon-ronsons-so-youve-been-publicly-shamed.html?_r=0

I have to say that out of all of the take-downs I've seen on social media, this one is epic. It's global. Cecil was a much loved lion that was a tourist attraction in Zimbabwe. Then there's the wealth of material about Palmer; his pics posing with big game he's killed; gasoline on the outrage fire. The report of Palmer's lying to Federal officials about a black bear he hunted. Everything about Palmer's life was dug up post haste. Even a sexual harassment suit that was filed against him by an employee complete with court documents.*

Early yesterday, Palmer's office and home address and phone numbers were posted on The Daily Mail's comments section. The Palmer/Cecil story was the lead. During the day, the posts went into the thousands which guaranteed similar articles being placed at the top. Protesters went to Palmer's home and office and left posters and stuffed animals. Palmer was forced to take down his Facebook page and had to close his office. Pledges were made to bring Palmer's business to its knees; Yelp filled up with angry messages about Palmer. Pics of Palmer's home and office are widespread. Meanwhile, petitions have been launched calling for the U.S./Zimbabwe to bring Palmer to justice. Last but not least, I've never read so many death threats against an individual on social media. Lots of them call for using a crossbow/bow and arrow against Palmer, beheading him and skinning him as was done to Cecil.

How does Palmer overcome this?

* http://scallywagandvagabond.com/2015/07/walter-palmer-sexual-harassment-suit-127k/

DottyParker said:

yahooyahoo said:
I heard an interview with the author of this book on the radio. Very interesting if you have the time.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/19/books/review/jon-ronsons-so-youve-been-publicly-shamed.html?_r=0

I have to say that out of all of the take-downs I've seen on social media, this one is epic. It's global. Cecil was a much loved lion that was a tourist attraction in Zimbabwe. Then there's the wealth of material about Palmer; his pics posing with big game he's killed; gasoline on the outrage fire. The report of Palmer's lying to Federal officials about a black bear he hunted. Everything about Palmer's life was dug up post haste. Even a sexual harassment suit that was filed against him by an employee complete with court documents.*
Early yesterday, Palmer's office and home address and phone numbers were posted on The Daily Mail's comments section. The Palmer/Cecil story was the lead. During the day, the posts went into the thousands which guaranteed similar articles being placed at the top. Protesters went to Palmer's home and office and left posters and stuffed animals. Palmer was forced to take down his Facebook page and had to close his office. Pledges were made to bring Palmer's business to its knees; Yelp filled up with angry messages about Palmer. Pics of Palmer's home and office are widespread. Meanwhile, petitions have been launched calling for the U.S./Zimbabwe to bring Palmer to justice. Last but not least, I've never read so many death threats against an individual on social media. Lots of them call for using a crossbow/bow and arrow against Palmer, beheading him and skinning him as was done to Cecil.
How does Palmer overcome this?

* http://scallywagandvagabond.com/2015/07/walter-palmer-sexual-harassment-suit-127k/

Once the initial outrage blows over this story will disappear just like the last several media hot topics. I wouldn't worry about this guy too much. If he has $50k to blow on a lion hunt I doubt he will be in the welfare line next week.