So someone posted a photo of a huntress lying next to a giraffe she’d just killed on Facebook . She’s lying next to it’s neck and smiling so much she’s beaming. The photo brought her a lot of heat. She responded by saying that she and other hunters were playing a vital role in conservation–as if managing giraffes has been a problem we’ve been trying to deal with, eh?
Well, some nicely intentioned person wrote on a blog that they didn’t see the difference between killing chickens and pigs to killing lions, hippos, rhinos, giraffes, black and brown bears, wildebeast, zebra and so forth. I do see a difference. And trust me, I feel for every goddamned tomato I had pulled from its life on the vine and every radish who’s heart I cut to pieces because I know they feel the death and don’t like it anymore than we would. That said, here was my short response to the well-intentioned woman:
Yes, we kill to eat. But no one except perhaps some indigenous, eat giraffes, or elephants and certainly no one eats big cats as a rule. And yes, if people raised those animals on exotic hunting farms, as they do, there would be less outrage. But to have someone pay money to have someone else locate your often-endangered, exotic game, then drive you into the best possible position from which to shoot it, then have you shoot it and take you to it for photos as if you have done something good or important, well, that’s what the outrage is about. This is not even hunting. These hunters are not out there tracking prey with a chance they will become the hunted. (Except for that hunter killed by the elephant recently). I take people to the Amazon jungle and sometimes get offers from hunters for big money to take them on a safari where they can shoot a jaguar. I tell them I’ll do it on condition that we mount a camera on the barrel and remove the firing pin, so that when you pull the trigger, you get a picture of the jaguar up close, rather than a dead jaguar. In nearly 30 years, no one has taken me up on the offer, an indication that the thrill isn’t in getting dangerously close to a very dangerous animal, the thrill is only in the killing. And that’s just wrong.
Wow okay you should learn more about how hunting is used to manage wildlife and promote conservation in Africa. And yes, those animals are eaten. Try doing some research before writing a piece that is completely drenched in ignorance. I don’t hunt but I am a biologist and I support hunting and its use in wildlife management and conservation because I choose not to be ignorant to the fact that is the largest cause as to why we are able to conserve what we do. I doubt you are actually going to do research (if you were, you would have done it already) so here are some tidbits:
1. There is not enough protected land to support large populations of large game animals. Kruger for example is a large conservation area in Africa and it looks like a moonscape because there are far too many elephants on it. Each environment has limited resources and in order to keep from overshooting these resources and endangering other species, hunting is used to not only do what would be a necessary cull anyway, but it also raises money for conservation. African countries have a lot of trouble even paying people to patrol and prevent poaching so every little bit helps. Most of them are still using single action rifles while poachers have automatic weapons and helicopters. And before anyone starts mentioning ecotourism, it actually creates a larger detriment towards wildlife because it ecotourism requires a large infrastructure (on average 3-5 employees per tourist) plus they tend to set up indiscriminate snares to catch bush meat in order to add to the experience. If you think the tours you give are eco-conscious, you are sadly mistaken.
2. All of that meat listed that you claim is not eaten is indeed eaten in Africa. It may not be incredibly prevalent in the cities but bush meat is an important source of food for many locals not limited to indigenous peoples. When a foreigner hunts large game, typically the animal is donated to locals for use because international laws often prevent export.
3. Stop treating this like it was canned hunt. It wasn’t. I don’t like canned hunts or lazy hunting either (which also includes towers and deer feeders in the United States) but if it is the only way to provide large amounts of desperately needed funding towards the conservation of these animals then so be it. If no one pays to hunt a particular animal that needs to be culled, it will be culled anyway and no money will go towards helping the rest of population.
4. Hunting provides the single largest funding source for conservation both in Africa and in the United States. If you have a problem with that, then you don’t support conservation. I highly doubt you are a hunter or someone who is actually interested in learning how conservation works given your dramatic despair about pulling your tomato off the vine. Given your comments about these game animals being exotic and endangered also tells me you have no idea how conservation works in Africa.
“Hunting provides the single largest funding source for conservation both in Africa and in the United States. ” Absolute BS. Non-hunters contribute far more more to conservation in the US. Africa? What a joke. what doesn’t get channelled back into the coffers of Safari Club International, in Texas goes to lining the pockets of Zuma’s cronies.
“Non-hunters contribute far more more to conservation in the US.”
It would be interesting to see supporting links.
Hmmm.. No supporting links yet… Wonder why…
I’ve read supporting links, but they are pretty funny.
Strapping people down and running electricity through their body until it blows bloody steam out their eye-holes and anus provides a tremendous, enormous pile of money for black-hearted, uncaring, grinning, Repug half-wits here in Texas and America the Beautiful….still doesn’t cause Jesus to go for it. See???????
I got eyes, I can see the blond with her eyes rolled back in her head, clearly orgastic oblivion. Blasting that animal into eternity with that much pleasure qualifies her very clearly for the Ferguson Police Dept. Put your funding sources for conservation in your ear. I would never believe this was a canned hunt, I got eyes, clearly she was doing the Lord’s work, similar to Mother Terresa. Canned hunt, no way Jose’ , and the moons made of green cheese. Dick Cheney is more competent and believable and generous than this self-satisfied Leila loser. I’m thinking this rubbish is a set-up by the new honcho at the Weekly. Could it be Stoutimore from the Startlegram? The hero who canned the finest editor in Texas has proved he’s capable and stupid enough to do it. Good grief.
Another thing, I was hunting, I expect, when you were jumping off yellow school buses. George W. Bush Jr, the Cuban- Canadian- Holy Rolling hero Bagger bonehead Texas sent to Washington (can’t remember the jerk’s name), both are smart enough and decent enough to throw rocks at this woman for disgraceing the Bagger brand so brazenly. Keep yapping Leila, surely there are some Peckerwoods decent enough to be driven into the imperfect but clearly more honorable and respectable side of the political arena. You’re a real piece of enlightened, self satisfied, bunk. Thanks very kindly, we are honored by your half-witted but elegant lecture. The picture ruined your dip-stick speech. Get lost.
Giraffes are neither exotic, rare or endangered, this one was old and ready to go, and commenter Benny is a kook.
Fort Worth & Texas are both literally busting at the seams with half-wit, bone-headed, baboons and Baggers. They are certainly not suffering any shortage in supply as they’re more common than fire-ants and many are crawling with crotch-crickets. Their feet stink and in no way are they rare, scarce, needed or necessary. Thousands and thousands of those boogers are high-mileage, lead-headed, and pee in their beds. They contribute contageon and contention, and continue to comtaminate our city, state, and national political apparatus. Who needs them? Although they are in no wise scarce, nor certainly not exotic, they are loud-mouthed and hammer-headed and appalingly lacking in decency. I suggest maybe it’s time for the mullets to go. Lets pray about it. I would suggest asking our police people for assistance, however most all of those heros are Baggers too. Guesty is certainly a gentleman or a manly, strapping gentle-person but oviously a lonely and disgusting loser. What ever it is, I’m thinking it’s way past it’s prime, in no way is exotic, is a pure dead-weight, certainly would not bring a quarter at auction. Should someone pull the trigger on it? Well??? Is what’s good for the goose good for the gander. Whose on first?
Looks like my initial assessment of Benny was in error, I can see now that he’s a false-flag creation of the Koch brothers.
Most fervent hunter-haters are a little off, but Benny’s creators overplayed their hand.
Benny may be a kook, but he (or she) is my kind of kook. Keep at it, Benny. The baggers may own all the real estate and newspapers and politicians, but they don’t own our minds yet.
Judging by the pre-occupation with “baggers”, I’d say that indeed they do own a sizeable chunk of what passes for minds on the left.
As for hunting, there’s nothing you can do about it except rant anonymously on blogs, which is quite enjoyable to watch.
Did your Mama have any kids with a lick of sense Ms. Leila? Tea-Bagging jerks vote Democrat, Ms.Leila… you think??? Did your Mama have any kids with a lick of sense? You’re precious, but clearly ready for the infirmary. As for hunting, I was hunting way before you were jumping off yellow school buses. I suspect you wouldn’t make a hair on a hunter’s hiney-boe. You make a mockery of stand-up hunters. You’re very fortunate to be well fixed with plenty of money, If you were forced to depend on your inteligence, or inherent decency and modesty, you would be sunk. You any kin to G.W. Bush Jr. or Ron Paul? You all are about the same calibre of hero. I got you on my prayer list.