The Cecil Hoo-Doo: Part Deux

Remember this: South Carolina Highway patrol quote, “Ignorance is not an excuse”.

Disclaimer: My personal opinion on this tragedy is: It was poor judgment compounded by malicious mischief that killed Cecil, the Lion, if indeed it was Cecil. The lion was a collared, protected animal involved in research for the propagation of lion species in Africa. I am concerned this is going to be one of those weird situations where the whole story is going to be swung as a lie, fed to the media to cause further problems. Media outlets are not just avenues for malicious mischief used by the media itself and per-users. Sensationalism is not something I want to be caught up in. Observe, read, digest; not read and rally the ignorant villagers to grab for the pitch forks and shovels then burn Frankenstein out of his windmill.

Onward.

I read an article entitled, Dentist Claims He Didn't Know Lion He Killed Was Protected by Marie Szaniszio. I rolled my eyes. Not again.

I thought, those professional African hunter-outfitter-guides are making hunters everywhere look like (there are no words here). One source stated Theo Bronkhorst of Bushman Hunting Safaris Limited and the owner of the land was named as Honest Trymore Ndlovu of Antoinette farm were involved, if not the instigators. Makes you wonder how long this sort of thing has been going on.

The dentist, Dr. Walter Palmer, is alleged to have killed Cecil, the Lion during a professionally guided hunt lead by alleged Bushman Safaris in Zimbabwe. Strangers are putting stuffed animals on the doorstep of Palmer's workplace. I would say keep that money spent on stuffed animals and donate to conservation efforts in Africa. The problem with this is conservation efforts in Africa are being usurped by shady individuals.

Instead of letting the authorities do their jobs, the activist police are taking it upon themselves to dole out some kind of social punishment in the form of public shaming. If these people had a wooden stock from Puritan times, I am sure they would put this man in it, then toss refuse at him. This shows the tendency of violence is just as bad as potential to do harm. You are no better than the target you hate.

One must remember that people involved in social internet witch hunts can turn their sites on anyone (innocent or guilty) and destroy that person's life. No one is stopping witch hunt participants from doing harm. This is a form of lawlessness and not being held accountable for consequences and behaviors persons may exhibit or generate via social media. These behaviors can transmute over into public life by approaching targeted individuals on their property to dole out some kind of retribution through confrontation they have no business getting involved in.

Two wrongs do not make a right.

I am not writing this to go over the shame/tragedy of a protected, collared lion being gunned by a paying trophy hunter. There are plenty of articles out there to feed the frenzy. I decided this might be better in parts. First you have to get hoo-doo'ed into something. Then comes the event actually happening. Third is the fall out---enter witch hunt.

Learn something from everything.

To refresh this from the article, Palmer paid $50,000 for the nighttime hunt. A dead animal was used as a lure to get the alleged animal off a protected area. It was wounded, tracked, killed, skinned and beheaded. The hunters attempted to destroy the collar but didn't destroy the tracking device. This shows malicious intent. Using reason here, destroying the collar alleges to malicious intent on the part of all involved.

If I were the scientist and found one of my tracking collars in a state with the animal dead separated in such a way, I would have been furious. I wanted to study big cats when I was younger. I can understand the love one could have for a big cat. It is not a love like one has between a domesticated pet and owner. I can only imagine how upset the scientists were when they found the collar. All that time, research and beloved specimen, gone.....

A couple of bumbling hunter-outfitters had stolen hope. Hope to improve a dwindling species's existence.

Maybe there needs to be a check-in station between hunters, outfitters, and scientists where visuals can be presented with a dialogue between both groups as to what should and shouldn't be hunted.

I would think, when utilizing the African landscape for hunting, it wouldn't be too hard to google all those Big Cat conservation sites to see what people adore. It is right there on the internet, in living color. Ignorance is no excuse when you have the world at your fingertips.

Pretty much Dr. Palmer's life by his desire and actions during a hunt has made a crater in his life. Also, the actions of a group of liars help dig that hole deeper. If Palmer commits suicide because of all the pressure he is under, whether he is a good or bad man, causes persons involved to be no better than what people think Dr. Palmer is.

This statement is not to defend Dr. Palmer, but it is the reality of how you can become the very thing resented. It is a disturbing trend in current culture. There is a no-point source of public-induced potential murder of an individual. How can that be right either? How does one claiming to be for the safety of animals and people, call for the outright murder of an individual, while not giving him his due process?

The problem in the articles is: It is alleged. This means the general public still needs to wait for forensics to determine if the head goes to the body. What if, in this strange reality, on that very night, a second group of hunters lurking on the zone line between properties, shot and killed Cecil, then slunk off into the dark for someone else to get the blame. If Palmer's group was participating in this way, why not another group? Palmer states he “thinks” he was the one. What if he weren't the guilty party? There was also the Spaniard, who was ruled out. Someone still killed the lion.

Who knows what the actual truth is by now? What if it turns out to be wrong? Now the flood of hate is causing more damage than intended. Do people just push away their keyboards and shuffle on to pretend they had nothing to do with the outcome? Is it that easy to disassociation oneself from socially hate-induced catastrophe to a human being?

I don't agree with the behavior of the hunters killing Cecil. Nor do I agree with the behavior of the general public.

Someone is going to argue the 40 hour tracking session of the lion could be opportunity for a misdirection. I would love to read the actual report of this debacle. People can do a lot in 40 hours.

Who dunnit?

Stranger things have happened. What if? This has to be beyond a shadow of a doubt. News media will release events before the truth is confirmed. By then, someone is ruined. No one apologizes for it either.

Palmer's party states they tracked the wounded animal for 40 hours. A lion is walking around with an arrow in it or not.

Here my thoughts are: If you use a lure tied to a vehicle, then shot it with a bow and arrow....how can this be called hunting? 

Who would do such a thing to cause a significant blow to hunting itself? 

Palmer would have to state he saw the hunters take the collar off the lion and try to destroy it.

Why is this energy not directed at opening a dialogue with the government of Zimbabwe for allegations of corruption and selling of wildlife for monetary gain in exchange for foreigners to hunt. Why is there not a system in place to indicate who is a licensed hunting outfitter in that area or Africa in general? I know there is a website for professional hunters in Africa.

What is going on in Africa?

I thought somewhere in all that mess there will be a loophole. The loophole of luring the lion off the protected area onto what is private property. Once off, is it no longer protected? I did read one article that stated the landowner didn't have a permit or quota for a lion to be hunted on his property even though representatives for Dr. Palmer stated his permits and paperwork were in order.

I think this same thing can be found in the states. Once outside the protected area, a collared animal can be hunted. I would have to look again to see if regulations have changed but...it could happen.

Dr. Palmer has hunted lions before by his trophy photos. I ask myself, how may lions do you have to hunt to be satisfied? Was going to those lengths worth it?

Dr. Palmer is out of $50,000, all those years of dental school, his reputation, his practice, and his ability to hunt. The possibility of all this potential loss isn't worth the hunting of a lion.

I thought this was a very bad example of hunting shenanigans. If a hunter keeps hiding behind the legality of hunting, eventually that legality will change to not protect hunters acting badly.

It would be an experience to get to Africa, observe what is going on, talk to the people and scientist who live with these problems everyday. It would be nice if hunters would start a dialogue with other hunters who are making the rest of the Hunting Nation look bad. This, makes it harder for everyone. It wasn't even a person against hunting but a hunter, a landowner, and an outfitter who caused the backlash of killing a well-known collared research lion.

This is why I do not want to hunt Africa.

I also wonder who is next?

Written by: W Harley Bloodworth