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Killing Of Huge Elephant In Zimbabwe Reignites Controversy Over Trophy Hunters

2D739ACD00000578-3274724-image-a-3_1444938537122We recently followed the controversy over the shooting of “Cecil the Lion” by an American dentist Walter Palmer from Minnesota. What was most striking was the complete disconnect in how such kills are seen by hunters versus the public at large, as shown by the subsequent controversy of a Idaho hunter taunting animal advocates. A new such controversy has emerged after a German hunter celebrated the killing of one of the largest elephant ever seen In Zimbabwe at the Gonarezhou National Park. The magnificent animal was estimated to be 40 and 60 years old with tusks that almost touch the ground and weigh 120lb. Again, the difference in how this killing is viewed is fascinating. Hunters celebrated the kill while many in the public were appalled that this hunter would pay tens of thousands of dollars to travel to Africa and shot such a beautiful and inspiring animal.

2D739AC500000578-3274724-image-a-2_1444938349661The elephant was shot on October 8th in a hunter who paid $60,000 (ÂŁ39,000) for a permit to conduct a 21-day game hunt including the Big Five of elephants, leopards, lions, buffalo and rhinoceros. He then proudly posed next to the dead elephant. Many are appalled by the fact that this is considered a triumph to possess an animal by killing it. Some believe that this is the largest elephant killed in decades.

Anthony Kaschula, who operates a photographic safari firm in Gonarezhou, posted pictures of the hunt on Facebook, and objected that “individual elephants such as these should be accorded their true value as a National Heritage and should be off limits to hunting.”

Louis Muller, chairman of the Zimbabwe Professional Hunters & Guides Association, said the hunter had only realised how large the “tusker” was once he had been shot.

These legal hunts are adding to the decline in elephant populations that have been decimated by poaching and, as discussed recently, cyanide poisoning.

189 thoughts on “Killing Of Huge Elephant In Zimbabwe Reignites Controversy Over Trophy Hunters”

  1. “77% say NO. I’d call that buyer’s remorse.”

    The Jounal Sentinel is a known liberal rag. It’s no surprise to see 77% have buyers remorse. That’s like asking the Huff Po what percentage of people would vote for Sarah Palin. lol

  5. “Too bad they voted for Scott Walker, the rest of us told them not to. Buyer’s remorse is strong in the state.”

    So that explains him winning two recall elections! Might be the buyers who have remorse are suffering from delusions.

  6. Although I don’t believe God condemns people to hell for killing an animal. I do wish killings for fun, and not for food, would cease.

    I have two friends who hunts in Africa once a year. When they hunt and kill a large animal, they donate the meat to the local villages for food. It’s very much appreciated by the locals.

    Killing animals just for the tusks or for fun is wrong.

  9. http://wiwildlifeethic.org/2014/03/06/patricia-randolphs-madravenspeak-natural-resources-board-member-proposes-white-deer-kill-statewide-vote-april-14/

    Thanks to a Governor Walker political appointee who put it up or a vote with the DNR board after years of protecting these albino deer. Thanks again Governor Walker. Wisconsinites reported feeling betrayed. Too bad they voted for Scott Walker, the rest of us told them not to. Buyer’s remorse is strong in the state.

    “Greg Kazmierski, Scott Walker’s political appointee to the Natural Resources Board, is an NRA/ hunter activist who owns Buck Rub Outfitters. He personally drafted Question #35 which will be posed to all citizens attending the April 14th DNR/Conservation statewide public election and vote:

    “Would you favor legalizing the harvest of white and albino deer statewide?”

    http://www.channel3000.com/news/Residents-to-petition-DNR-to-change-white-deer-hunting-rules/17599552

  10. Trophy hunting and deer hunting brought to mind the white “ghost deer” of Wisconsin. The albino gene is more common than usual in this area. Unfortunately, Fish and Game do not classify them as any special protected type of deer. In fact, their position is that the pale coat color make them less adapted to survive because they lack camouflage. So it’s as legal to hunt them as any other deer.

    Most of the locals love the Ghost Deer, and vow not to hunt them. But out of towners can and do come in and shoot them. To them, they’re a rarity to be collected.

    That’s always been the problem of white animals. Since the beginning of mankind, any unusual pelt would be highly sought after, so an unusually colored animal would be harvested out of the gene pool, either by a predator or by man.

    I personally like the White Deer, even though it’s true their lack of camouflage make them less adapted. I hope they get preserved, because they are not only beautiful, but they can attract tourists, hikers, and photographers.

    http://naturespressbooks.com/whitedeer.html

    http://protectthewhitedeer.com

  11. Bam Bam:

    I know, right? Google it. They actually have a swing for chickens. I read an article about it in a Backyard Poultry magazine, laughed my butt off, and had to order it. It will be hilarious, no matter what they decide to do with it.

    Oh, and about the deer hunting. I have some relatives from Montana. Everyone fills their freezers with deer meat. In some parts of the country, since we’ve reduced or removed natural predators, the deer population is out of control. Their numbers can get so high that they destroy forests and starve in winter. One of my relatives in Idaho makes elk sausage, elk lasagna, and all sorts of recipes with game, fowl, and fresh caught fish.

    I get why some people choose to be vegetarian. My body won’t allow it, though, and there’s nothing wrong with being the omnivore we evolved to be. To each their own.

    Alicia – yes, visiting the trainer’s ranch was so amazing. The elephants rumbled so deep and low that I felt it more than heard it. You should have seen them interact with the trainer. They loved him. And it was awe inspiring to walk down a trail and have two huge elephants just stroll up to us for carrots and pets. It’s so different in most zoos, where the clever elephant just looks bored. I also got to pet a rhino, there, too, who acted like a golden retriever. You had to watch out for his horn, though, to ensure he didn’t accidentally sweep your feet as he nosed around your shoes. He said he didn’t bother to put a halter on him at photo shoots, because, really, what was he going to do if the rhino didn’t want to come along? He weighs thousands of pounds. He just followed the trainer around at the studio. I had absolutely no idea that a rhino could be sweet like that. I just assumed they all had anger management issues and something to prove. A cameraman asked him if the rhino did tricks. He answered, “Yes. He’s a rhino who doesn’t kill you. That’s his trick!”

    I’m so desolate that he moved out of state due to the high cost of taxes, permits, etc. I have the most awesome pictures, though.

  12. Karen, what a lovely experience you had with those two elephants!

    bam bam, when I think of deer dying of starvation or being killed by mountain lions, I usually doubt that dying by bullets or arrows causes more suffering. That being said, I appreciate your objections to hunting and your desire to do good in life.

  13. Paul C

    I’m quite sure that trekking around, with a bunch of deer hunters, is quite an experience. My interests in life, however, revolve around contributing to the life with which we have been blessed and trying to do good–deer hunting fails on both charges.

  15. Karen S

    You ordered your chickens a swing? Sorry, but this city slicker can’t help but laugh. Obviously, I’m easily amused.:-)

    BTW, is it supposed to be a surprise for Christmas? 🙂

  16. Oh, and the only way to make statements about hunting being unethical because the shots are not clean is to collect data and compare them with slaughter houses and poultry processors who take more than one attempt to slaughter an animal or bird. And then they would have to compare cortisol levels in the meat. I would actually be really curious about such a study.

    As of now, no one collects data, so I have no idea how often it takes more than one shot to down an animal. All of the hunters I know have been doing so for generations, and are crack shots.

  17. “There are guidelines–which exist for various reasons–about the handling and ultimate slaughter of animals who have been commercially raised; guidelines to which you and your fellow hunters do not abide.”

    I think you need to visit some conventional feed lots, poultry processors, and slaughterhouses. In the best case scenario, there is this long line, where the animals can hear the pneumatic gun, the sounds of the animal dying, and smell the blood and other smells. That creates stress hormones in the meat that you eat. In chickens, “free range” just means the birds have “access to the outside.” That could mean crammed together but with no roof. Without battery cages, birds crammed together have to be debeaked because they go cannibal from the crowding. That’s why cheap chicken costs around $5 while humanely raised and organic costs $15 and up. Cheap eggs cost $2 or less, while organic AND humanely raised costs $12 and up. Or you could have battery caged hens fed organic feed and get it cheaper.

    My own organic laying flock live a happy, peaceful life, no fighting, tons of room, access to my whole backyard regularly, and dust baths. I’ve recently ordered them a swing. Their eggshells are so strong they are difficult to crack. The yolks are naturally orange. Plus they run to me when I call them. No comparison with conventional, cheap egg factories.

    You are right that sometimes a shot goes wrong or a hunter is inexperienced. That is also true at slaughterhouses. Things go wrong surprisingly often in the kill sheds.

    So you have to decide which is more healthy – an animal raised with no fences, no antibiotics, no crowding, no filth, no toxins, no debeaking, wild and free, that might have to be shot a couple of times, or conventional beef that might have to be shot in the head multiple times with a pneumatic gun?

    There are indeed health reasons, as well as financial ones, for hunting your own meat and poultry. Plus, the only way to get the absolute freshest fish is to catch it yourself.

    Oh, and don’t forget that our most recent laws mean that producers no longer have to label country of origin for meat and poultry. That chicken you buy just could come from China.

  18. Part of my distaste for non-subsistence hunting comes from the treatment of coyotes. I love coyotes, but it’s legal to hunt them. I personally know of several people in my area who shoot them on site, considering them vermin. People move to the country, but don’t want to deal with the country itself. They shoot them, poison them, and hit them with their cars. People remove all the predators, and then wonder why they are over run with rodents, ground squirrels, and gophers. My pack has a boisterous reunion at around the same time every night. (They’re very punctual). I recall one night it sounded different. So sad, not the usual happy party. The next morning, I found a dead coyote pup by the side of the road.

    I’ve lived literally right next to a denning site with no problems yet (knock on wood.) My husband made my chicken run velociraptor proof, my dogs guard my hens when I let them out in my fenced backyard, and my big dogs guard my small dogs (who were dumped near death on my previous property by other non-animal-lovers.) I’m responsible for keeping my kids and my pets safe, and I can usually do that and still live in harmony next to open space. My line is rattle snakes. I can’t take the chance my kid will step on one, and they blend in so perfectly. Those have to go.

  20. Karen S

    While you proudly tout the benefits of putting animals on your dinner table, who have been free to roam wild, untainted by the often unhealthy chemicals and feed given to farm-raised animals, you miss an important point. There are guidelines–which exist for various reasons–about the handling and ultimate slaughter of animals who have been commercially raised; guidelines to which you and your fellow hunters do not abide.
    Before there is an avalanche of criticism about how horrendous the meat industry is and how much in need of an overhaul is required, the simple fact is that taking a potshot at an innocent animal, in the woods, where it must endure a tremendous amount of pain and agony before its ultimate death, is hardly anything of which to be proud. I, personally, shun red meat for all of the antibiotics and problems associated with its consumption, but I am not against those that wish to indulge. There is something, however, antithetical to humane treatment, which involves shooting animals in an uncontrolled environment and waiting until they finally succumb. Nothing humane or, by the way, healthy, about that. I’ve read various articles regarding the cortisol, which floods the flesh of these animals as they writhe in pain and agony, awaiting death after suffering gunshot wounds. That same meat which is later digested by those foolish enough to believe that they are partaking healthy and pure beef. Not healthy, by a long shot.

    1. bam bam – it would be interesting for you to join deer hunters in Montana as they track down their prey, or not. You would see that it is not a walk in the park. In fact, it is usually damn cold and you want to get as close as possible for a kill shot because you don’t want to have to track it for miles to put it out of its misery. Then, assuming you got a good shot, you have to gut it, skin it, quarter it and tag it. Then take it all to your truck. Of course, by this time you are exhausted and you have to keep an eye out for coyotes, wolves or mountain lions who want to share your kill.

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