Most days at work, I spend my breaks and lunch at my desk reading the news. I usually start with the Daily Mail and move on to Fox News. Most of the time their hard news stories are close to the same. Most opinions are the opposite. I know that you thought I only listened to one perspective. See, I do have an open mind. This morning, I read a story on Daily Mail about an American millionaire, big game trophy hunter, who was gored to death by a Cape buffalo in South Africa, while the man was trying to shoot it. Yes, my first thought was, “way to go, buffalo.” I know that was not the best love of my fellow man thing to think, but there it was. Also in this article was a photo of this man posing struggling to hold up a dead mountain lion that he had killed. He had the biggest smile on his face, and I just grew hot with anger. When I saw that picture, that fellow man meant very little to me. I was happy for him to pay for his sin. Before you want to have me committed, I am aware I have a problem. I know that God puts the lives of man above that of animals. My heart just breaks when an animal dies at the hands of man for no reason besides bragging rights and a head on the wall.
Some of you may recall my rant when the American dentist killed Cecil the lion, the “protected” lion with a collar on a preserve, that he lured off of the preserve to kill. Then he shot it with and arrow and let it roam in agony for 40 hours before finally killing it after he slept soundly a couple evenings. Then he skinned the leader of its pride and took his head leaving the carcass for the vultures and hyenas. The dentist was not killed in his quest, but I believe he went into hiding for a while after the outrage he caused. I hope for Cecil’s sake that he was majorly inconvenienced.
On maybe five occasions I have killed a snake. The last one I tried to kill, I hacked and hacked at it with a dull hoe, torturing the poor thing. I was getting sick watching the creature suffer at my hands, so I took a hatchet and finally took its life in one swift stroke. This was years ago, and it haunts me to this day. I cannot intentionally kill an animal. This makes me a hypocrite, I know this. I do eat meat. I am very conflicted about this fact. I have considered giving up meat, but I have not had the courage. I may get there yet. I do however have some meat-eating ethics. I will not eat veal, lamb, or foie gras.
I really do not have a problem with hunting if done for the right reasons. Most men and some women I know hunt. Usually if they do not eat what they kill, they give the meat to someone else. So, they may be hunting for sport, but the animal is consumed and not killed in vain. I do not have a problem with hunting to eradicate invasive species, like the Burmese Python in the Everglades and the Asian Carp that have threatened native ecosystems and animal populations. I can even be convinced that hunting may be needed to assist with overpopulation of a species to keep a balance of nature.
The press release from South Africa stated that an unprovoked animal attacked the hunter. I am sorry, if the animal was being shot at by a human with a gun, I would say it was provoked. It was probably protecting its herd or calf. The Cape buffalo is the most dangerous animal in South Africa, and they kill dozens of people annually. The hunter knew the risks when he decided to go kill an animal whose only crime was being the unlucky one in his site at the time. I hope the buffalo was not harmed and it returned to its herd unscathed, though I feel this is unlikely.
It is sad that a teenage girl lost her dad. It is sad that a man lost his life doing something he was apparently passionate about. I just wish people with his passion would prefer to shoot with a camera instead of a rifle. I hope at least one trophy hunter will change because of this incident and the outrage that has followed. That brings me back to Daily Mail. Of course, when I read a story like this, I must read the comments. Of the dozens I read, I think there was one that supported the hunter half-way. When I turned to Fox News, their piece on the subject was an opinion. It was about all the hate being spewed at a man who was killed by a wild animal. Well, you can mark this on your calendars, for the second time this year, Fox News was talking bad about me and kinda ticked me off.
You can agree with me or not, I really do not care either way. When it comes to animals, children, disabled, and elderly, I can get very angry to see abuse and exploitation. This time the animal won with the weapons God blessed it. The bad man with the gun lost one. I am sorry for him. I really do not want anyone to die, man nor beast, even if he killed a beautiful cat for a trophy. I do believe it is time we stop allowing animal trophies back in the United States. I thought President Obama made that a law when he was in the White House, but obviously it is still happening. If they cannot bring their head back home to put on the wall, maybe they will not spend tens of thousands of dollars to go on the hunts. If South Africa needs to do something with their game populations, I am sure they have enough hunters to take care of it. That’s my opinion, anyway.
Add comment
Comments