In Zimbabwe, Cecil the lion was a believed to be a rare animal that was relatively safe from trophy hunters and poachers. After all, the 13-year-old lion wore a GPS collar as part of a research project with Oxford University and lived in a reserve funded by various governments and organizations to keep animals safe. Indeed, Cecil was something of a beloved celebrity. What park rangers did not count on was combination of corrupt tour operators, a foreign hunter, and an array of others seeking to lure the lion out of its protected area. Officials say that hunters paid $55,000 for the fun of shooting Cecil and then cutting off his head and skinning him. He was lured out of the park with bait so that he could be killed for sport. The culprit was allegedly a US dentist Walter Palmer from a small town near Minneapolis. Palmer loves to kill large animals and then pose with their bodies in postings on social media.
Cecil had six lioness mates and had sired approximately 24 cubs. Those cubs may now also be killed, which is common when other males move into another lion’s pride.
Palmer (left shown here with an earlier trophy) allegedly hired his band of hunters who helped lure Cecil a mile from the park. Palmer then was able to enjoy killing this magnificent animal with a bow and arrow. They then cut off the collar, another crime in the country.
Cecil was tracked for 40 hours by the team to corner it for Palmer to kill him. The first effort was botched and Cecil survived in pain until he could be tracked down the next day and killed.
The professional hunter, Theo Bronkhorst, with Bushman Safaris said he reported the “mistake” to the Parks and Wildlife Management Authority. However, few believe his account and he and the landowner bordering the national park have been charged. The government noted that “Both the professional hunter and land owner had no permit or quota to justify the offtake of the lion and therefore are liable for the illegal hunt.”
For his part, Palmer issued a statement that “To my knowledge, everything about this trip was legal and properly handled and conducted. . . I had no idea that the lion I took was a known, local favorite, was collared and part of a study until the end of the hunt . . . I deeply regret that my pursuit of an activity I love and practice responsibly and legally resulted in the taking of this lion.”
Source: CNN
Annie
The fetus comes out-tomorrow!
Bring the taxpayer’s dollar!
Come tomorrow!
Yum!
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yq9Fo5Mk9k8/VbjtKioqwYI/AAAAAAAAArQ/AjaG74eLf7U/s1600/Pate.jpg
I love how liberals are OUTRAGED over the planned parenthood video because it was “secretly recorded.” Like you guys cared when someone secretly recorded Mitt Romney making his 47% remark. Too funny.
If Walter Palmer committed a crime then he should be held accountable. Even if this includes a trial in Zimbabwe.
If he did not commit a crime, then he can face the “court of public opinion” in America.
I am not a hunter, but do not have a problem with people who hunt animals that need culling like deer in some areas. Most of the hunters I know will consume what they kill.
Looks like Mr. Palmer just wanted the head. From some of the above postings, it seems like hunting these animals in Africa in not uncommon. This is tragic as we frequently read how their numbers are on the decline.
How do we know it was a lion?
I mean, sure, it looked like a lion.
Maybe it was a trans-Republican; it self-identified as a slack-jawed mouth-breathing neofascist in golf pants, and the dentist merely put him out of our misery.
I say Kudos to the wonderful dentist for keeping abortion safe and free.
Plus, I need some fetal bone marrow for my skin cream.
It keeps it so soft, like a baby’s butt!
SierraRose
It all may be on the up and up: too many lions, roaming dangerous lions, the revenue supports the park, etc. However, hunting with the bow, killing for trophy, the guy is scum regardless of the rest. He is the type that takes vacations in Bangkok. You know, these girls have been saved from poverty.
By the way, just the fact that 64 of the collared lions within the park have died should make one wonder how many total lions there are in this area. Not all of the lions are collard and not all of the lions (or even most of the lions) have died. This area has an overpopulation of lions which is why hunting is allowed. The permits to hunt are extremely expensive which goes to support the park (after the president for life and his cronies take their cut). The local economy is also supported through jobs created to meet the needs of the hunters.
Sierra Rose
I was always under the impression that a male hunting alone was somewhat unusual.
It was usually a sign of a sick or old lion that was catch as catch can.
That may just be too much Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Or it could be a sign that lions are rejecting gender roles and lionesses are refusing to bring home the bacon.
“To imply that women would seek abortion care simply to provide fetal tissue for research is beyond the pale.”
Wonderful!
Simply wonderful!
Obama-esque in its obfuscatory brilliance, much as no one has implied that at all.
A lie wrapped in blame avoidance rolled in BS.
Terrific work!
Zimbabwe sells, for extremely high prices, permits to hunt lions which Dr. Palmer had- or at least thought he had -purchased. Zimbabwe has one of, if not the, most corrupt governments in the world. All of the coverage of this issue has been highly slanted through an anti-hunting lens. We do not yet know the facts. Did the professional hunters take his money and not obtain the required permit, is only the first of many questions. No article has offered any evidence that the lion was actually lured out of the park, there have been a number of different speculations on just how this ‘might’ have been done.
It is unlikely that there would have been any of this hew and cry had it been any other lion. Lions do range out of the park on their own. Radio collars are designed to be unobtrusive and not catch on vegetation. On an adult male lion the collars nestle beneath their manes and are not visible at a distance. It is very possible that this lion left the park on its own and was taken with a legal permit by hunters who did not see the collar until after the cat was tracked down and killed, the finding of the collar on the cat was reported immediately to the authorities, in compliance with the law. Of the lions being tracked inside the park 64 have died, 32 of those 64 were killed outside the park where they had traveled on their own. The line between park and non-park is not visible to the lions.
Due to the popularity of the animal and the national attention this drew, it would not be beyond the Zimbabwe government to obfuscate, lie, and falsely arrest those involved in order to draw the international flack away from their hunting laws and onto the hunters.
Annie, you do have the (1) distract and (2) blame the accusers approach down.
Well done!
Kudos, and pass the pâté!
I don’ t see the sport in luring a lion with bait so you can shoot it. Hunt Lions the old fashion way. Go get a spear and go after one in the bush. That’s the Roman way
http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2015/07/28/exclusive-faces-fake-names-people-behind-planned-parenthood-attack-videos/
“According to a California criminal defense attorney, Michael Kraut, there is some reason to believe that Daleiden and his associates may have violated California and federal law on forgery, credit card fraud, and identity theft.
Already, California Attorney General Kamala Harris has announced an investigation into the Center for Medical Progress. Her investigation seems to be geared toward whether the group violated any laws in connection with its registration with the state’s Registry of Charitable Trusts, but she also said her office would look at whether the group had committed “any violations of California law.”
“If he really felt this way, I think there are better ways to go about expressing your opinion than to basically scam people into saying whatever he wants them to say,” she said of Daleiden. “It’s just manipulative.””
Annie
You put some fresh meat out and PP jumps on it like Cecil.
I guess we know your answer to “Who you gonna believe, PP or your Lion eyes?”
Planned Parenthood: “Get to the choppah!”
Planned Parenthood: We were just [fulfilling] orders.
Latest update on Planned Parenthood.
A total of 9 states have already launched an investigation including Massachusetts, Kansas, Missouri, Arizona, Indiana, Ohio, Georgia, Texas and Louisiana and members of Congress have launched an investigation as well.
http://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/undercover-videos-mislead-distort-planned-parenthoods-work/
“We know that these highly edited video interviews, obtained without knowledge or consent of the interviewees, should not be trusted. The intricate planning of deception, including forming a sham corporation to allegedly collect and distribute human tissue to research labs, is stunningly blatant in its unprofessionalism.
To imply that women would seek abortion care simply to provide fetal tissue for research is beyond the pale. Such horrible disrespect for women is breathtaking. Why would anyone take away a source of comfort and validation for women who donate tissue so their unintended pregnancies can contribute to the greater human good? Why would anyone stand in the way of valuable research that can cure disease and save lives?
And what good can come of attempting to discredit Planned Parenthood, an organization that for nearly 100 years has been the most trusted women’s health-care provider in the country. These groups and their infiltrations seek only to make abortion more and more difficult to legally obtain. If they can’t make it outright illegal for women to decide what is best for themselves and their families, they will ensure that both women and abortion providers live in fear. That is the real agenda.”
*****************
This is going to be a real loser for Republicans. One of the most deceitful of their many deceitful gotcha video scams. And before a national election. The stupid part, indeed.
Annie
Planned Parenthood: Thinning the minority herd for a hundred years.
Planned Parenthood: when life gives you fetuses, make Irish Stew.
http://www.lifenews.com/2015/07/28/3rd-shock-shock-video-catches-planned-parenthood-vice-president-selling-body-parts-of-aborted-babies/
After two shocking videos caught Planned Parenthood doctors discussing and arranging the sale of body parts of aborted babies, a third video has been released today catching a Planned Parenthood vice president negotiating the sale of aborted babies and attempting to get as much money as possible from the deal.
As LifeNews reported, the first video of undercover footage shows Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s Senior Director of Medical Services, Dr. Deborah Nucatola, describing how Planned Parenthood sells the body parts of aborted unborn children and admitting she uses partial-birth abortions to supply intact body parts.
In the second video, Planned Parenthood doctor Maru Gatter discusses the pricing of aborted baby body parts — telling the biotech company officials that the prices for such things as a baby’s liver, head or heart are negotiable. She also tells the officials that she could talk with the Planned Parenthood abortion practitioners to potentially alter the abortion procedure to kill the baby in a way that would best preserve those body parts after the unborn child is killed in the abortion.
A total of 9 states have already launched an investigation including Massachusetts, Kansas, Missouri, Arizona, Indiana, Ohio, Georgia, Texas and Louisiana and members of Congress have launched an investigation as well.
http://jezebel.com/gop-pols-condemning-planned-parenthood-supported-fetal-1720630337
“In the July 27 edition of MSNBC’s Live With Alex Wagner, Jess McIntosh, Communications Director of Emily’s List, argues that this moralistic about face stems from the “embarrassing [Republican] presidential primary.” With a ludicrous frontrunner like Donald Trump, the GOP needs “a thing” — that is to say, a seductive target for moral outrage.”
The fundamental propellant to these investigations is the fertile ground of controversy. As Sam Stein from the Huffington Post and McIntosh point out, Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell voted in favor of fetal tissue donation in 1993, when it was “non controversial.” He was joined by fellow Republicans Lamar Smith, from Texas, and Fred Upton, from Michigan. Now, however, McConnell determinedly pushes a bill to defund Planned Parenthood through the Senate, explaining that “what we saw [in the videos] was very, very disturbing. I’ve not been a fan of funding them in the past and that remains my position.””
Annie
I like when they call it a donation, like its voluntary.
I’m sure they can make a pen that small that can write in amniotic fluid so the fetus can check the organ donation box.
Doglover
I just saw an article about a baby that survived after being delivered at 25 weeks.
Are you for stricter regulations on hunters than on the abortion industry?
Maybe Planned Parenthood should stop hunting over bait in the ghetto.
“Lion season!”
“Dr Palmer shoot!”
“Fetus season!”
“Dr Hassan chop!”
At least the dentist didn’t use taxpayer funds for his African/American eugenics program.
Yes, we know, different story altogether. We’re so worked up over a dead lion on the other side of the planet, while we have much more horrific things happening to babies right here in our backyard.
I’d love to comment about the butchers at planned parenthood, but just can’t seem to find a story on this blog about it. We’ve seen three videos so far that would make a hardcore Nazi beam with pride!
Jonathan, would you kindly point me to your comments here about planned parenthoods slaughter of children? We seem to have missed it. Thanks in advance!
http://www.factcheck.org/2015/07/unspinning-the-planned-parenthood-video/
“Several Republican presidential candidates have claimed that Planned Parenthood is “profiting” from abortions. But the full, unedited video they cite as evidence shows a Planned Parenthood executive repeatedly saying its clinics want to cover their costs, not make money, when donating fetal tissue from abortions for scientific research.
Historically, the use of fetal tissue has produced some groundbreaking scientific discoveries. According to the American Society for Cell Biology, a nonprofit representing a large and varied group of scientists, “Fetal cells hold unique promise for biomedical research due to their ability to rapidly divide, grow, and adapt to new environments. This makes fetal tissue research relevant to a wide variety of diseases and medical conditions.
In another example, Leonard Hayflick created a cell line from an aborted fetus in the early 1960s that has been used to create vaccines against measles, rubella, shingles and other diseases. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, told the journal Nature in 2013 that “[t]hese cells from one fetus have no doubt saved the lives of millions of people.””
***************
Is there no length to which Republicans will go to defund PP? Is it that important to them to see women without medical reproductive services? This is yet another case of extremist conservatives using illegal and deceptive methods. There are calls to prosecute the fiimers, because they may have broken laws filming without permission. Filming without permission and then highly editing the videos to what end really? The right has a real problem with science and rationality.
Inga – Planned Parenthood is being funded by tons of organizations. They have no reason to ‘cover expenses.’
pinandpuller-
Most likely this guy wants to “protect” fetuses as part of his plan to control the lives of other who are already born. That’s the usual the dual dynamic of those who enjoy killing living beings.
Yeah, yeah, yeah… different story altogether. No need to hijack this thread for the PP fiasco. I know we humans are to have dominion over the Earth, but I never got the idea in Sunday school that we were to realize this hedonistic and egotistic quality in ourselves, especially in such a vulgar manner. Seemed to me we are supposed to be humble and care for God’s creations, not squander them in an orgy of egotistical self-realization. But then again, maybe some folks think I went to a strange church. I have no problem with hunting, but this is clearly much more.
Zimbabwe prison = a Turkish prison??