The alleged unlawful killing of two lions by two separate American doctors has caused an international outcry and demands for extradition to Zimbabwe for prosecution. (here and here). However, one American woman is using the controversies to taunt animal lovers and apparently drive up traffic on her Facebook site. Sabrina Corgatelli is believed to come from Boise, Idaho and is reportedly a university accountant at Idaho State University who also runs a clothing company called Racks and Ridges. She teased those objecting to the illegal hunts by saying “To all the haters. Stay tuned, you’re gonna have so much more to be pissed off about.” She then posted various photos from the “trip of a lifetime” posing with the corpses of a giraffe, warthog, kudu and impala during a trip to South Africa. To be sure to ignite those grieving over the death of Cecil the Lion, Corgatelli posted a series of pictures with such notes as “All you haters, This is for you!! Have a great day, cuz I know I will!!’
There is no indication that the killings by Corgatelli were illegal. However, the postings have deepened the debate over trophy hunts in Africa and other countries. What is most interesting in this public debate is the total disconnect in how both sides view the experience. Frankly, as a lifelong hiker, I journey great distances to see animals in the wild and could not imagine shooting them and posing with their dead bodies. Yet, this precisely the “beauty” that people like Corgatelli refer to in such “trips of a lifetime.” After shooting a large African antelope called a kudu, she wrote “Yesterday, day 1 an amazing day!!! Got my beautiful beautiful Kudu!! It was my #1 want on my list and I got him on the first day!!! Loving it there!!” Likewise, after killing a giraffe, she wrote “Such an amazing animal!! I couldn’t be any happier!! My emotion after getting him was a feeling I will never forget!!!”
Those postings leaves animal advocates and many environmentalists seething at the notion that one sees such an “amazing animal” and then extracts joy from killing it. After killing a huge warthog, Corgatelli rejoiced in killing “one of Africa’s icons.”
I am truly fascinated by the cultural and emotive divergence in such stories. Many hunters are in fact committed environmentalists and love and respect nature. The current debate has not seriously raised questions over deer, duck, and other common hunting game which are plentiful. It is focused on “big game.” Moreover, places like South Africa make a huge amount of money on eco-tourism, particularly photo safaris. These countries risk a backlash if they are also hosting people who want the joy of killing the very same animals. Notably, giraffe hunts are allowed for trophies despite the fact that the giraffe population has been reportedly falling. A package for wealthy hunters allows them to kill multiple animals for $5,400 while the giraffe carries a ‘trophy fee’ of $2,600 by itself.
Corgatelli has become the target of outrage but her postings have also generated more than 7,000 “likes.” In response to those leaving irate messages, she posted a biblical reference from Genesis 9:3 in which God tells Isaac: “Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.” It is not clear if she ate warthog and the hundreds of pounds of meat that she killed or gave the meat to locals.
When actively seeking such notoriety, there is also a possible backlash at a university for an employee. Idaho is a big hunting state so the backlash is likely to be far less than at many other universities. Some people have posted demands that she be fired. As I have argued in the past, I do not believe that it is appropriate for universities to take action. Corgatelli has free speech rights and what she is doing appears perfectly legal. We have a disagreement for what is fun. Where some of us see the beauty in watching animals in the wild and leaving them in pristine locations, others like Corgatelli long to kill those animals. We disagree but that is no reason to seek to punish Corgatelli because she is open about his passion for big game hunting or her desire to participate in the international debate as a hunter advocate. I certainly believe that it is inappropriate for a university to chill such speech and punish those with different values. Ironically, the taunts of Corgatelli likely embarrass most hunters and work to the advantage of animal activists calling for new laws barring such trophy hunts in Africa.
For my part, I am still in Yosemite hiking with the kids in some of the most beautiful locations in the world. I would be thrilled to see a mountain lion today and enjoy not just watching it but leaving it in this wonderful place. Indeed, knowledge that it is still up in these mountains is part of my “trip of a lifetime.”
Excuse me “weakened” not “weekend.”
Personally, I support hunting game for food but oppose trophy hunting, and especially canned hunts (spit!)
I recently had an interesting discussion with a relative of mine who is an ecologist. He forwarded a paper that he required his students to read, on trophy hunting and conservation. The paper raised the point that if a species is considered merely a nuisance, or associated with costs and burdens, then landowners will do nothing to conserve it or the environment. They’ll burn down the bush to make room for cattle. But if an animal is worth quite a bit of money for trophy hunts, that can lead to intense poaching pressure. There is also the questionable practice of farming trophy species, such as lions, for canned hunts (spit!) Does mass producing these animals in a breeding facility, for their sad fate, relieve pressures on the environment? The author pointed out that special interests can pressure governments to release unsustainable levels of permits, such as what happens in the fishing industry. Indefensible levels of permits are issued until a species crashes, is put on the endangered species list, and then the next species gets targeted.
The conclusion was that policy needs to be extremely specific and find just the right balance in this difficult issue.
http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/africa-in-focus/posts/2015/07/30-cecil-the-lion-conservation-hunting-felbab-brown
From an outsider’s perspective, I think that eco-tourism and photo safaris are perfect for rendering these species more valuable to locals alive than dead. And hunting licenses should be strictly reserved for animals that are sick, a danger to humans, or over populated. And then, they should specifically exclude the prime animals, so that the population gets strengthened by the hunt rather than weekend. In other words, you do not cull your best animals. I do not know if it’s possible to exclude certain individuals from a hunt outside of a reserve. But this is my wish list.
Karen S wrote: “Personally, I support hunting game for food but oppose trophy hunting…”
Why keep sticking your head in the sand, Karen? The kills of trophy hunters are utilized for food. Some of them feed entire villages for months.
http://gothunts.com/see-what-happens-to-an-elephant-after-elephant-hunting/
It is easy to spot how biased that article you shared is by how many times they say “in theory” about how trophy hunting helps conservation efforts. It is more than just “in theory.” It works in practice. For example, the article acknowledges the tremendous success of conservation for the White Rhinoceros which would have gone extinct without trophy hunting, but it does not give that fact the amount of attention that it deserves. Our ancestors decimated the big game on our continent because they did not follow a model of embracing trophy hunters and regulating quotas. Now we have haters wanting to remove it from Africa. The end result could very well be the end of big game in Africa. There will not be enough money and desire to preserve them if big game hunters are removed from the equation.
The Trump kids ADMITTED to hunting game in Africa…
This hypocrite came out blasting the doctor and look at her here. Lisa Van der Pump. Whether it’s real or fake, the message is clear, fur coats are chic!
http://www2.pictures.zimbio.com/fp/Lisa+Vanderpump+Celebrities+Stop+Good+Morning+lnoF_lfsdnCl.jpg
One more thing, Why is her place of employment specified?
There’s lots of hypocrisy to share, Beyonce wears fur alot. So do most of the hollyweird big mouths who are outraged by big game hunts.
http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/bb/f0/e1/bbf0e166a3bcb0ed243ec826b5c33d4e.jpg
@ I.Annie – There’s enough big game hunt pictures to go around. There’s also a whole lot of photo shop involved. So if you think this one is fake, so can your pictures of the Trump kids.
http://news.jasperdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Barack-O.-1024×768.jpg
ask him what his telephoto lens cost
Quite a bit, I think….or hope 🙂 When he moved from his home here to a place nearer his family, he gave us all of his cameras and photo equipment. Downsizing everything!!!! Some very nice stuff which I haven’t decided to use or sell.
Dust Bunny Queen wrote: “… he gave us all of his cameras and photo equipment. Downsizing everything!!!! Some very nice stuff which I haven’t decided to use or sell.”
If you aren’t using the photography equipment and you don’t need to sell it, I would be more than happy to take it off your hands. I can agree not to go trophy hunting in exchange for the photography equipment if you like. 🙂 I am even putting together a trip to South Africa and can send you the pictures from my Safari there. LOL.
May be Zimbabwe should outlaw big game hunts. Instead of allowing it and trying to charge who hunt. I had some friends who went hunting in South Africa last year and they killed the game and gave the meat to the villages. That’s how they do it there.
There’s such hypocrisy as the ones who scream the loudest will always have something made of animals. DO you wear leather belts, sit on leather chairs or leather car seats, wear lipstick, make up, have car tires, use bio-fuels, use plastic bags, fireworks, shampoo & conditioner, clothes softener, toothpaste, white or brown sugar and they all have animal parts, skins, fats or bone in them.
How about this outrage be directed at the killing, selling and dissecting of fetus, especially late term one. If you are not outraged by the picture below, you have no business being outraged over the pictures above. I wonder how much Planned Parenthood got for these parts!!!
http://www.worldlife.com/wp-content/gallery/late-term-abortions/baby3small.jpg
I do wish that JT would do a post on abortion, so that your Right To Lifers can clog up
that post, rather than trying to compare abortion and Big Game hunting…
I am sorry, but, I think that people who do NOT understand the difference between
Trophy hunting of RARE animals and hunting in the USA for food, are just ignorant.
justagurl – any of these animals on the endangered list?
JustAGurl – These animals are not rare. I remember a few years back where more than 500 villagers were killed by lions in one year. The problem was overprotection of lions and pigs. The lions feasted on pigs and became a problem because villagers liked to raise pigs. The lions came to the villages to eat the pigs and settled for villagers as an easier meal instead.
Paul, the hysterical haters keep repeating the mantra that the lions are endangered, but they are not. The lion (Panthera leo) does not make the endangered category of the IUCN Red List.
Search on Panthera leo at http://www.iucnredlist.org/
http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/15951/0
Red List Category & Criteria: Vulnerable A2abcd ver 3.1
Year Published: 2015
Date Assessed: 2014-06-15
Justification:
The Lion population is inferred to have undergone a reduction of approximately 42% over the past 21 years (approximately three Lion generations, 1993-2014). We infer a decline of 42% based on time trend analysis of census data for 47 relatively well monitored Lion subpopulations. These subpopulations approximately totalled an estimated 7,500 Lions in 2014 and comprise a substantial portion of the total species population, so that we feel confident in applying observed trends to the species as a whole as well as on a regional basis.
http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/68933833/0
Scientific Name: Panthera leo (West Africa subpopulation)
Parent Species:
See Panthera leo
Common Name(s):
English – Lion, African Lion
French – Lion d’Afrique
Spanish – León
Red List Category & Criteria: Critically Endangered C2a(ii) ver 3.1
I personally think this is despicable activity. However, I am not certain that I agree with the statement that she is trying to drive up her Facebook traffic. It is her page. I usually ignore histrionics.How did she come to the attention of the media or anyone else ? If she is seeking attention, she is succeeding. I think it is sad that the reactions to her photos and to the dentist have been so strident. PETA has called for the dentist to be hanged ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/07/30/peta-calls-for-walter-palmer-to-be-hanged-for-killing-cecil-the-lion/ ). The irony and the hypocrisy astonish me. I prefer to use argument or persuasion and hope that those who disagree will do the same.In our culture, there are too many too eager to silence, belittle and destroy their opposition. How about a good dose of a persuasive argument.
brucec1130 – isn’t PETA the organization that kills pets?
@ Steg
I see we are quite similar about the squirrels. We have ground squirrels who are very destructive and carry diseases. It is the deer that eat my apples and decimate my rose bushes. They literally killed two young peach trees by stripping off all the bark. Grrrr.
I use a wrist rocket and pelt their deer butts. The Airsoft gun wouldn’t be able to shoot far enough to get the deer or hit them with much force to get their attention. The ground squirrels get the same treatment. Our outdoor cat takes on the ground squirrels and does a pretty good job, but this year we are overwhelmed by the little bstards and even he is having a hard time keeping up with the population explosion. I don’t want to waste 22 ammo on them, so I have also used ball bearings and those white plastic pellets.
These are just animals. No different in principle from spraying Raid on ants for fun.
Steg – it is always open season on vermin.
Another anecdote.
We have a friend who is an avid outdoorsman hunting and fishing were his passion. He used to go trophy hunting in his youth in Africa, I’m talking in the 1960’s and 70’s. He would go on safari annually and had quite a few mounts on his walls. Water buffalo, eland, leopard, etc .
Later he changed his thoughts on hunting for trophies but still liked the hunt process. He compromised and began photo shooting the big game. He could still go on a safari, hunt and approach the animals as close as he safely could and then with his cameras take some fantastic shots/photos. He had a wall of photo trophies.
THIS is the type of trophy hunting that I approve of 😀
DBQ – ask him what his telephoto lens cost? 😉
As long as she is not shooting jackalopes, I do not care.
issac – I see that you did not take back that trophy hunting was a ‘manly sport.’
@ JAG
I used to hunt quite a bit. However, I do agree that people who are into big game trophy hunting for the thrill of it are despicable. The problem with the overly offended SJW types is that they are unable to distinguish between hunting of game for consumption versus hunting for trophies and will now pounce upon all hunting.
Hunting for game [as we did] was not only for the meat…deer, geese, pheasant, ducks….and fishing…..is not just for the meat.
There is a great deal of skill and sportsmanship involved. SPORTSMANSHIP. For instance: deer hunting in the area where we live, high desert, requires the ability to know where the deer are, how they live, be able to hike, climb,and stalk quietly. Be able to be an accurate shot with your rifle or compound bow so that you have a clean kill. It is a lot of work and often you fail. Failure is ok. It is the process of hunting, or of fishing, that is the reward.
Road hunters and those who bait to attract game are on the same despicable worthless level as those who pay to have trophy animals put in front of them to kill for ego points. Real hunters despise them because they are not being sporting. They are immoral cheaters.
Her husband had better not make her mad……
People who say hunting some animals is fine but hunting big game is not because they don’t hunt to eat are ignorant. The trophy kills are eaten.
http://gothunts.com/see-what-happens-to-an-elephant-after-elephant-hunting/
So your decision to hate trophy hunters is a decision to take food and money away from the poor in Africa. Make sure to increase your donations to the starving in Africa, or better yet, provide seed money to build businesses and private enterprise in Zimbabwe. Otherwise your hatred of trophy hunters makes you complicit in creating poverty and starving the children living in Africa.
Most of the people in Zimbabwe are relegated to eating rats except when these trophy hunters grace them with their money and hunting activity. About 70% of Zimbabwe are unemployed and of those employed, the average wage is $253 per month. Furthermore, the cost of living there is high, more like living in New York City. A haircut is $20, and yogurt is $5. See the following article for a little more educated understanding of life and the economy in Zimbabwe.
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/115925/zimbabwe-prices-why-are-they-high-new-york-citys
I have to say, she is NOT too smart… she is only wanting to get attention…
WHY else would she post this, when so many people are openly showing hate for this
kind of hunting?
this trophy hunting can’t be that hard, she has a full face of makeup, while posing
with the dead animals..