:evil: American fool with form kills iconic Zimbabwean lion “Cecil” with crossbow, having employed local “guides” (read poachers) to lure him out of a game reserve. The idiot could not even kill the animal outright; he had to track the poor, semi-domesticated fellow for 16 hours before finishing him off. Of course, Mr Palmer will escape penalty; he is safely back in, I believe, Minneapolis, and beyond the effective reach of Zimbabwe law. His accomplices are being pursued by Zimbabwe police, and may (probably will) end up in prison. Proper order, up to a point …
Southern African states generally allow limited hunting of lions under license. The conditions attaching to such hunting including a very hefty fee, and direction towards killing lions who are too old or sick to contribute to the maintenance of their population. I recognize the economic importance of this activity for these countries. But can this work ? There are instances of “licensed” hunters killing seriously threatened species such as White Rhino - which is never licensed. In this case, the poor lion was not just a national icon; he carried a prominent radio collar, indicating that he was the subject of official research (and which enabled his dumbass killer to track him by GPS). I have no particular moral objection to hunting (in his youth, my brother pursued the fox in a southern Irish hunt, at least as long as he could stay on his horse). I do wonder, however, whether hunting of more-or-less endangered species in Africa by wealthy Western idiots can be regulated effectively in the interests of the species concerned, whatever about the economic interests of locals involved in the process. In anger, JR.