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Cecil the Lion: Funds pour in to Oxford Wildlife Research Unit WildCRU

myosotis

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Cecil the Lion has sadly achieved worldwide fame after becoming a hunter's trophy. The world is responding with calls to protect these wild animals, and funds are pouring in to the research Unit which monitors Cecil's family.

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Cecil the lion – the most famous creature in one of Zimbabwe's national parks – was killed by an American hunter who has boasted about shooting a menagerie of animals with his bow and arrow, The Telegraph can reveal.

Walter James Palmer, a dentist from Minnesota, is believed to have paid £35,000 to shoot and kill the much-loved lion with a bow and arrow.

The animal was shot on July 1 in Hwange National Park. Two independent sources have confirmed the hunter's identity to the paper, which has also seen a copy of the relevant hunting permit.

Conservation groups in Zimbabwe reacted angrily to the news that the 13-year-old animal had been killed: partly because the lion was known to visitors and seemingly enjoyed human contact, and partly because of the way in which he was killed. He was lured out of the national park and shot.

"He never bothered anybody," said Johnny Rodrigues, the head of Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force. "He was one of the most beautiful animals to look at."

In a statement, Mr Palmer told Colorado News the authorities had yet to contact him and added he did not know the lion he had killed was a "local favourite".

"In early July, I was in Zimbabwe on a bow hunting trip for big game. I hired several professional guides and they secured all proper permits. To my knowledge, everything about this trip was legal and properly handled and conducted," he said.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...ions-killer-revealed-as-American-dentist.html

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Cecil the lion and WildCRU

News flash from David Macdonald, Director of Oxford’s WildCRU: I have wonderful news for all those following the story of Cecil, and our work for lion conservation in Zimbabwe and beyond. Overnight, thousands of donors worldwide brought the total of the Cecil Appeal to £300,000. This is stupendous my colleague Andy Loveridge and I are overwhelmed and inspired. There is more. Minutes ago I spoke to American philanthropist Tom Kaplan and his wife Daphne who have been loyal supporters of the WildCRU’s work, and told them of my hope that the total appeal could reach £500,000. Tom and Daphne immediately pledged $100,000 to match, pound for pound, dollar for dollar, each donation that comes in from this minute as a stimulus to reaching that total. We are grateful beyond measure for their generosity, and that of every single one of our donors, big or small.

Tom Kaplan, who with his wife Daphne have given more to big cat conservation than anyone before them, and who has worked closely with David Macdonald at the WildCRU since they became firm friends a decade ago, said “We have to seize this moment where we can all make a difference. Jimmy Kimmel nailed it: If the tragic, illegal, death of Cecil can lead to the saving of many more lions, then some good can come from tragedy. WildCRU is the world’s top university research group when it comes to felids, and so much more beside. To honor and boost David's work, and the tremendous gift to wildlife conservation that has come from Jimmy Kimmel's on-air appeal, Daphne and I want to keep the momentum going. To help David reach the tremendous target of half a million pounds, my wife and I are delighted to offer to match the next $100,000 to help achieve that wonderful goal.”

The mission of the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) is to achieve practical solutions to conservation problems through original scientific research.

At the WildCRU, in the Recanati-Kaplan Centre at Oxford, we are studying lions in various parts of Africa to uncover the science that will inform and underpin their conservation. This is urgent, because lion numbers are precariously low, estimated at fewer than 30,000 across the continent and we have evidence that there are actually fewer. We have worked on the lions of Hwange National Park, with the support and collaboration of the excellent Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority. Our goal is to understand the threats that lions face, and to use cutting-edge science to underpin solutions to those threats. Our work is scientific, we have satellite-tracked the movements of over a hundred lions and monitored every detail of the lives of more than 500 individuals, but WildCRU’s work is also highly practical – we run a courageous anti-poaching team, a local conservation theatre group, and education campaign that gets information into every school in the district, and we work with local farmers to help them live alongside lions and improve their livelihoods.

http://www.everydayhero.co.uk/event/Wildcru-Cecil-the-lion

http://[URL=https://imageshack.com/i/p5hWQZVSj][/URL]

http://[URL=https://imageshack.com/i/eyyXXr3Vj][/URL]
 
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The thing I always find so astonishing about these pictures of people and the animals they killed, is that they always look so proud and happy. I just don't get it at all.
 
I saw this on Facebook. What a barbaric act! This animal was rather tame, he liked to come out and show himself to tourists and allow himself to be photographed, so it must have been a real brave, skillful act to lure him out of the National Park and shoot him. SMH. I will never understand those who find pleasure in killing animals, anyway.

Here are some videos about Cecil. You can see how tame he was.


 
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Unbelievably, it seems that Cecil (the lion)'s brother 'Jericho' was shot today.

I have no idea why anyone on this planet is allowed to search for life elsewhere in the Universe. We seem to do more than enough damage to the life already here.
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CNN)—The brother of slain Cecil the lion, named Jericho, was killed Saturday in Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe, a senior park official told CNN.

Jericho was gunned down by a hunter operating illegally, said Johnny Rodrigues, head of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force.

Cecil was also killed illegally, provoking an international outrage because he was a protected animal, and Zimbabwe is seeking the extradition of American dentist Walter Palmer on accusations that he and others illegally hunted the lion, authorities said.

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/08/01/world/cecil-the-lion-brother-jericho-illegally-killed/index.html

http://[URL=https://imageshack.com/i/hlOQeo0zj][/URL]

Here's a portrait of Cecil, painted by Nate Giorgio:

http://[URL=https://imageshack.com/i/p1KIMTXuj][/URL]

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HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe has suspended the hunting of lions, leopards and elephants in an area where a lion popular with tourists was killed, and is investigating the killing of another lion in April that may have been illegal, the country's wildlife authority said Saturday.

In addition, bow and arrow hunts have been suspended unless they are approved by the head of the director of the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, the organization said. The authority said it only received information this week about the possibly illegal killing of a lion in April. An arrest has been made in that case, officials said.

The announcement follows an international outcry stemming from an American hunter's killing of a lion named Cecil that was allegedly was lured out of a national park. Zimbabwean authorities say the hunt was illegal and are seeking the extradition of Minnesota dentist Walter James Palmer.

Palmer is believed to have shot the lion with a bow on July 1 outside Hwange National Park after it was lured onto private land with a carcass of an animal, Zimbabwean conservationists have said. The wounded cat was later tracked down and Palmer allegedly killed it with a gun, they said. Two Zimbabweans — a professional hunter and a farm owner — have been arrested for the killing.

Palmer has said he relied on his guides to ensure the hunt was legal.

"Hunting of lions, leopards and elephants outside of Hwange National Park has been suspended with immediate effect," Zimbabwe's wildlife authority said in a statement. Any such hunts can only be conducted if confirmed and authorized by the head of the wildlife authority and if the hunters are accompanied by parks staff, it said.

The wildlife authority said it was necessary to tighten hunting regulations outside the park "following the killing of the iconic lion Cecil."

Police arrested a Zimbabwean land owner in the case of a lion that was killed in April in the same area where Cecil was fatally shot, said Geoffrey Matipano, conservation director for the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority.

"The outrage over Cecil could have helped because people are now more aware and ready to come with information," Matipano said, adding that they suspect it was an illegal trophy hunt.

Hwange is favored by hunters because of its teeming wildlife, Matipano said. Only two lions were illegally killed last year, he said.

Emmanuel Fundira, chairman of the Safari Operators Association of Zimbabwe, said his association could lose business as a result of the new hunting ban, but added that the measures were necessary to protect wildlife.

"Hunting brings in no less than $40 million a year," he said.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/05b0...thorities-restrict-hunting-after-lion-killing
 
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https://www.facebook.com/captpaulwatson/posts/10153393430140932
Exposing the Safari Club International

Finally the time has come to drop kick the Big White Hunters out of Africa.
Commentary by Captain Paul Watson

Dr. Walter Palmer has done something worthwhile after all.

His special combination of vanity, smugness, greed, arrogance and stupidity has taken something which happens all the time, usually out of sight and out of mind, and has elevated it to international recognition.

The slaughter of Africa’s wildlife is a crime against nature and humanity.

In 1978, I spent a few months in East Africa investigating and tracking poachers. I was gathering information to support the listing of the African elephant as endangered. I wrote an article in Defenders of Wildlife that got me into an argument with the editor when I predicted that within two decades the elephant population would be diminished by 30%. He accused me of being overly dramatic and cut my prediction from the story. It turned out that I was not being dramatic enough. By 1980, the diminishment was 50% despite the fact that the African elephant was listed as endangered by the United States in 1978.

From a population estimated at some 25 million 500 years ago, the African elephant was reduced to ten million by 1913. By 1979, there were an estimated 1.3 million elephants. Today, there are only a half a million remaining and the population is in serious decline with poaching now at unprecedented levels.

And Dr. Walter Palmer was intending to kill an elephant before leaving Africa after realizing the potential trouble he was in for killing Cecil.

Looking at lions. When I first went to Africa there were 250,000 lions in the late Seventies. Today that number has been reduced to about 25,000.
And yet the killing goes on. Lions, rhinos, giraffe, elephants and so many other species killed by poachers illegally and legally in most cases by White hunters.
Most poachers are Black so they can’t afford to do the paperwork to make their activities legal. The White hunters however have the cash to buy legality.

Dr. Walter Palmer claims his hunt was legal, but it was not. It could have been. He paid for it to be, but he got greedy. He wanted a celebrity lion and lured it out of a national park and illegally shot it with an arrow in such an unprofessional manner that the lion suffered for 40 hours before being killed with a bullet from Palmer’s guide.
He and his guide then stupidly tried to destroy the radio collar, and in an even more stupid move, they left the collar near the body allowing authorities to find the decomposing carcass of what had recently been the noblest and most beautiful lion in Zimbabwe.

But there is a positive outcome from all of this. It seems that Dr. Walter Palmer has the potential to be the catalyst to what can be a movement to end the trophy hunting in Africa for good.

It reminds me of the trial of David Curtiss "Steve" Stephenson, the Grand Dragon of the Klu Klux Klan (KKK) who was convicted of the abduction, rape and murder of a young woman in Illinois named Madge Oberholter in 1925.

The Klan at that time was extremely powerful and influential. Stephensen met with and advised among others, both the Governor of Illinois and the President of the United States. His last rally before his arrest drew over 100,000 supporters.

His arrogance led him to believe he was above the law and thanks to the bull-dog
determination of a young prosecutor, Stephensen was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1925 and the power of the Klan quickly unraveled when the trial revealed the extent of Klan corruption in political circles.

Palmer’s arrogance has caused the story of Cecil the lion to go viral. He picked the wrong lion, took the wrong actions and cowardly tossed his guides under the bus. The Safari Club International has already recognized the danger Palmer has placed them in. They in turn tossed him under the bus and cancelled his membership and since then have been preparing themselves to defend their vile and bloody enterprise from the wrath of the public.

Safari International has some 50,000 members, 150 chapters and collects $3.17 million in membership dues each year. It raises another 7 million from their annual convention.

But what is truly despicable about this organization is that it encourages slaughter through awards.
SCI’s record book system ranks the biggest tusks, horns, antlers, skulls and bodies of hunted animals. Hunters are rewarded with trophies for completing a “Grand Slam.”

There are 15 “Grand Slams.” The ones that cover Africa are:
1. The African Big Five Club (African lion, African leopard, African elephant, African buffalo and an African rhinoceros.
2. “Dangerous Game of Africa” (requires a minimum of five from the African lion, African leopard, African elephant, African rhinoceros, African buffalo, Hippopotamus and Nile Crocodile)
3. “African 29” (African lion, leopard, elephant, rhinoceros, buffalo, and a small cat, eland, bongo,kudu, nyala, sitatunga, bushbuck, sable antelope, roan antelope, oryx/gemsbok, waterbuck,lechwe, kob or puku, reedbuck or rhebok, wildebeest, hartebeest, mamalisc, impala, gazelle, pygmy antelope, springbok, dik-dik, bush duiker, forest duiker, nubian ibex, aoudad, hippopotamus, and wild pig)
4. “Cats of the World” (minimum of four of: lion, leopard, cheetah, jaguar, cougar, lynx, cougar or puma, serval, carcal, African golden cat or bobcat)
There are dozens of other reward categories with members able to purchase special gold and bejewelled pins for the number of kills they rack up.
There is also the Global Hunting Award that requires the killer to have hunted 6 continents to receive a diamond award (a minimum of 17 native in Africa, 13 native or introduced in North America, 4 native or introduced in South America, 6 native or introduced in Europe, 6 native to Asia and 4 introduced in the South Pacific, for a total of 50 animals).

There is the Hunting Achievement Award that requires a minimum of 125 animals, or 60 if hunting with a bow.

And for women they have the Diana award, given to women who “have excelled in international big game hunting.”

And finally there is the obscenely named “World Conservation & Hunting Award,”
given to hunters who have killed on six continents tand have killed more than 300 species. This “esteemed” award goes to the killer who has taken all 14 Grand Slams, the 23 Inner Circles, Pinnacle of Achievement (fourth) and the Crowning Achievement Award.

It is this award system that is driving thousands of wealthy primarily white men and a few women to spend millions of dollars stalking animals around the world for the sole purpose of killing the in the name of vanity and self glorification.

The public for the most part is unaware of the sheer immensity of this global hobby of slaughter. Thanks to Dr. Walter Palmer however they are getting a glimpse of it.
Palmer may be the most hated man in the world for a few days because of his vicious crimes of vanity but he will not be forgotten by the Safari International.

Hopefully Cecil will not have died in vain and that his death will represent the thousands of animals so horrifically slaughtered every year.

Dr. Walter Palmer should have stuck to cleaning teeth. He has now been deservedly immortalized as the most vile and despicable hunter of all time but history may look on him a slight bit more favourably if his actions bring down the Safari International Club like Stephenson brought down the Klu Klux Klan.
Photo Credit: Nick Brandt / Big Life Foundation

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Only after the last tree has been cut down.
Only after the last river has been poisoned.
Only after the last fish has been caught.
Only then will you find that money cannot be eaten.

Cree Indian Prophecy
 
Hey guys, can you help to do our bit these animals?
If American's got enough people to sign that petition for White House investigation , we need to do our bit and sign this petition:

An American dentist has made headlines for brutally shooting down a magnificent lion named Cecil.

But his despicable act has given us a fleeting opportunity to save the world’s lions.

Wealthy Americans and Europeans like him go to Africa and pay to hunt lions and other exotic animals for sport, and send their trophies home.

If all of us act right now we can get the US and Europe to ban the import of trophies when they threaten the survival of these majestic animals. Some leaders are already considering it -- but to win, we need an unprecedented global outpouring of support.

Sign and share on Facebook, Twitter, email… everywhere... before the world forgets about Cecil.
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/save_africas_lions_loc/

There is nearly 1.2 million signatures but more is needed
 
They have a piece on it right now on GMA. A second doctor from Pittsburg is also being called for extradition for similar illegal kills.

And that woman who made headlines a month or 2 ago was shown with a picture of a giraffe she killed. She's on safari right now in South Africa.

"Born Free" was a huge movie when I was a kid and I always assumed that it changed the way people felt about hunting. And I doubt there's a single American who hasn't seen Bambi. I can't believe hunting of any type goes on at all.
I'm just disgusted.
 
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That picture is beyond repulsive. I can understand people being forced to do all kind of immoral and at times even cruel things in order to survive, but still........there are better ways. Just a few days ago I saw a documentary where people in a small portion of the Amazon had gone from earning their living by cutting down trees to planting them; the man who paid them to that was nothing short of inspiring.


Killing in the name of "fun" though is a whole different thing. It is beyond absurd. I fail to see the nobility in that and I find it a complete barbarity whenever people engage in such activities, in Africa, in Europe or anywhere.

Only after the last tree has been cut down.
Only after the last river has been poisoned.
Only after the last fish has been caught.
Only then will you find that money cannot be eaten.

Cree Indian Prophecy
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So very true. Some other reflections that fit very well....

"All cruelty springs from weakness." - Seneca

"For as long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other. Indeed, he who sows the seed of murder and pain cannot reap joy and love." - Pythagoras

"Not to hurt our humble brethren (the animals) is our first duty to them, but to stop there is not enough. We have a higher mission--to be of service to them whenever they require it... If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men." - Saint Francis of Assisi

"Compassion for animals is intimately connected with goodness of character; and it may be confidently asserted that he who is cruel to animals cannot be a good man."-Arthur Schopenhauer



Hopefully, the death of that poor, majestic creature will not be in vain and people will actually take action. The phenomenon is well beyond that one sick individual. People tend to get collectively enraged in the social media until the next story comes along. Deep problems need real and long term solutions, but awareness raising is important. It is only the first step though.
 
Hunting trophies: Delta, United and American ban transport

Delta, United and American Airlines have banned the shipment of big-game trophies on flights after the illegal killing of Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe.

The airlines announced that they would no longer transport lion, rhinoceros, leopard, elephant or buffalo remains.
They have not, however, given official reasons for their announcements.

Delta flies direct to a number of African cities and was subjected to an online petition to ban such shipments.
American Airlines and United fly to fewer sub-Saharan cities than Delta, but United said in a tweet its decision to stop carrying trophies was "effective immediately".
United spokesman Charles Hobart said: "We felt it made sense to do so."

Cecil was shot illegally in July by US dentist Walter Palmer of Minnesota. Zimbabwe is seeking his extradition and that of a doctor from Pennsylvania, named as Jan Casimir Seski, who is suspected of killing a lion in April.

Mr Palmer is believed to have paid about $50,000 (£32,000) to hunt Cecil, a major tourist attraction in the Hwange National Park.
He says he thought the hunt was legal and was unaware Cecil was protected, but the killing triggered a huge online backlash.

Delta would not answer questions from journalists as to why it made its decision on Monday, nor would it detail how many hunting trophies it has transported in recent years.

"Effective immediately, Delta will officially ban shipment of all lion, leopard, elephant, rhinoceros and buffalo trophies worldwide as freight," the company said in a brief statement.

Its announcement came as several other airlines indicated that they are - or soon will be - stopping the transport of all trophy-hunting kills.
As recently as May, Delta said it would continue to allow such shipments

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-33767771
 
How Cecil The Lion And Tilikum The Orca Changed The World

The whole world has undoubtedly heard by now about Cecil the lion, who was lured from safety and killed by an American dentist in July. Everyone watched, disgusted, as the dentist said he didn't know it was illegal and regretted it. What happened that day was horrible, but something else happened too: Suddenly, everyone was painfully aware of the horrors of trophy hunting.

Cecil's death was tragic, but it will not be in vain. Now, because of his murder, people are so much more aware of how wrong it is to kill such a magnificent animal, and how even though he was on a reserve and technically protected, in the end, he still wasn't safe.

Cecil has become a public figure — and this has happened before.
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In 2013, the documentary " Blackfish" took the world by storm and opened everyone's eyes to exactly what was happening at SeaWorld. People learned who Tilikum really was — a trapped, abused orca who had been in captivity his whole life and never really stood a chance.

Now, thanks to "Blackfish" and Tilikum, SeaWorld is suffering, and so many people see it for what it really is and refuse to take part in it. Tilikum's story is sad, but he's helping to bring down a great evil, and hopefully that's exactly what Cecil will do too.

Because of Tilikum, ex-SeaWorld trainers and even celebrities have told people not to go to SeaWorld. Because of Tilikum's influence, SeaWorld's attendance has gone way, way down.
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Because of Cecil, more people who hunt big game — even celebrities — are being called out for it. Negative attention is being drawn to others who would dare to hurt another animal like Cecil. Cecil even made it into a tribute to endangered species that was broadcast on the Empire State Building, where millions of people could see his majestic face.

These animals have suffered, but they are also paving the way for less suffering for their animal comrades down the line. These animals are changing the world.

Cecil the lion and Tilikum the orca are two very different animals who wanted something very similar — to be free and without fear. Tilikum helped expose SeaWorld, and even though he is gone, Cecil has helped to expose the horrifying world of trophy hunting.

https://www.thedodo.com/cecil-lion-tilikum-orca-similarities-1280111687.html

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Comment under that article
Kristen Hall · On-Shore Volunteer at Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
I was just thinking today about the connection between Blackfish and Cecil the Lion. People saw Blackfish over the course of many months. It took a while to build momentum, and to start to see the impacts of the negative publicity. Companies severed ties with SeaWorld, musicians declined gigs there and various organizations were convinced not to hold events at SeaWorld.

Blackfish also taught companies the power of the consumer. SeaWorld was a perfect poster child of what NOT to do as a company. Companies started to respond more quickly and in some cases, pre-emptively to consumer feedback.

The entire world learned about the death of Cecil the Lion in a relatively short period of time. Social Media vitriol lit up the news outlets around the world. And organizations reacted immediately.

It's kind of like Blackfish helped us lay the tracks of affecting change for animals and Cecil was the high-speed train showing us how fast it can happen.

The times, they are a-changing!
 
I'm hopeful that such a majestic animal wasn't slaughtered in vain. I just can't understand killing for sport or cruelty to animals in general.

I'm thrilled with the donations the researchers have received.
 
I think both trophy hunting of wild lions and canned hunting both are terrible.
I hope the new documentary blood lions get as much attenton as blackfish has

Canned hunting exists in the United states too
http://www.bornfreeusa.org/a9d_hunts.php
 
MIST;4102664 said:
People were relieved that Cecil´s partner Jericho wasn´t killed, but another lion was killed.
A lion with no name, perhaps he or she had cubs-hunters don´t care if cubs lose protection from their parents.
About 600 lions are killed by trophyhunters every year but noone knows how many cubs dies because of it.
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So sad and my heart hurts every time I read animal being killed for nothing other than trophy.
This is as sad as any :
Baby Rhino's Mom Killed By Hunters And His Reaction Will Break Your Heart

https://www.thedodo.com/baby-rhino-...zaHZ17w.1&utm_referrer=http://t.co/Afn7FEqZWB

I'm starting to support "shoot the poachers" on sight, and they should include trophy hunters to same group:-(
 
Oxford Cecil project was funded by pro-hunting groups

WildCRU rake in £500,000 after Cecil slaughter

The Oxford research group studying Cecil the lion before his illegal murder received funding from pro-hunting companies.

Professor David Macdonald, who founded the unit, said there was no conflict of interest between its work and the decision to take cash from Panthera and the Dallas Safari club, which support sustainable trophy hunting.

Dallas Safari club gave WildCRU $20,000. A spokesperson for the group said it backed sustainable trophy hunting but did not comment further. Dr Luke Hunter, executive vice-president of Panthera was unapologetic: “In Africa, sport hunting is the main revenue earner for huge tracts of wilderness outside national parks.”

Chris Macsween, a trustee of the conservation charity LionAid attacked the idea of sustainable trophy hunting: “There is no such thing as ‘sustainable trophy hunting’ of vulnerable and endangered species. For far too long the general public has been influenced by the rhetoric emanating from pro-hunting organisations.

“It is unfortunate that a diversity of organisations have promoted such rhetoric and have allowed hunters to sponsor their research.”

Professor Macdonald said: “We simply do our work. There is no risk of any donor affecting our results. We report our results regardless of whether they state any particular point of view or not. We are not an advocacy organisation.”

He added it was up to society to decide on hunting laws but WildCRU was simply an “evidence-based organisation.”

International outrage sparked by Cecil’s death has seen Macdonald’s WildCRU rake in an enormous £550,000 in donations in little over a week. This is enough money to fund the group for 18 months. Further money has been pledged by Ty Warner, founder of the cuddly toy company Beanie Babies. Profits from the sales of a Cecil Beanie Baby will go to WildCRU.

http://thetab.com/uk/oxford/2015/08/06/oxford-cecil-project-was-funded-by-pro-hunting-group-23948
 
I personally wouldn't donate any money to organisation that accommodates serial killers blood thirst.
WWF is the same, and because they have big money supporters and big organisation to run, they stay quiet.
The bigger the organisation, the less money goes to the place where it is really needed.

"sustainable trophy hunting". That have come up with fancy name for serial killers.
 
We had a great discussion about this last night at home and it was probably the only thing my family has ever agreed on.
Deer hunting in TX is quite popular and every single one of us despises it. They also use the excuse about overbreeding etc. which is absurd.
 
While waiting for White House comment or any kind of action against this dentist killer, I'll keep posting these articles regarding trophy hunting

4 Signs the Tide May Be Turning Against Lion Hunting, and 1 It Isn’t
International outcry over Cecil the lion’s death is sparking changes around the world.

By Brian Clark Howard, National Geographic
PUBLISHED AUGUST 05, 2015


Who could shoot a lion?


That’s the question many people are asking on social media and in protests outside the offices of big game hunters, after the illegal killing of Cecil the lion last month. Although some hunting groups are digging in on their support of the legal, regulated pastime, there are also signs that a cultural shift away from big game hunting may be happening.

Social outrage, leading to action
There have been more than a million signatures to online petitions calling for the end of legal lion hunting.

National Geographic conducted a survey of more than 1,000 American adults over the weekend to gauge their response to Cecil’s story and the broader issues of hunting and conservation. The polling firm Ipsos found that 71 percent of respondents were familiar with Cecil’s shooting, and ten percent of those respondents had signed an online petition on Cecil’s behalf. Four percent said they donated to a related charity.

Fourteen percent said they are now more aware of trophy hunting issues as a result of recent news coverage. However, only 41 percent of respondents were aware of the rapid decline of big cats in general.

A century ago Africa had more than 200,000 lions, but today there are an estimated 30,000. With so few lions left, none should be put in the crosshairs, says Jeff Flocken, North American director for the International Fund for Animal Welfare. “Killing for conservation sounds like an oxymoron and it is,” says Flocken.

The old arguments in favor of trophy hunting—raising money for conservation and culling disruptive individuals—“no longer hold water,” says Flocken. “Economically it makes more sense to have renewable, wildlife-friendly value through ecotourism than a one-time kill fee.”

Flocken says more people are coming to realize that, in 2015, “we don’t have to kill an animal to save it.”

Airlines ban lion trophies
Today, about 65 percent of legal trophy hunts in Africa are done by Americans. And this week, three major U.S. airlines made it harder for those hunters to bring back their trophies.

Delta, United, and American announced that they would no longer allow the transport of hunting trophies from endangered animals on their flights. This follows a ban enacted by Emirates in May and by a South African carrier before that.

These bans “reflect our values as a society, since many people clearly have a visceral reaction to trophy hunting of endangered species,” says Flocken.

Hunters can still ship their trophies back to the U.S. if they secure permission from the Fish and Wildlife Service and if they use a freight company like UPS, which has declined calls for a ban.

“But the more challenging it is to bring back a trophy the less likely American hunters will be to engage in that hunt,” says Flocken, who notes that trophy hunting of polar bears plummeted after their trophies were banned in the U.S. in 2008.


Legislative pressure in the U.S.
Cecil’s death has also resulted in a bill in Congress. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) has introduced the Conserving Ecosystems by Ceasing the Importation of Large (CECIL) Animal Trophies Act, which would prevent importation of trophies from animals that are being considered for listing as endangered by the Fish and Wildlife Service.

A petition to list the African lion as endangered was filed in 2011, but the Fish and Wildlife Service has yet to finalize its ruling. Since that time, more than 1,700 lions have been killed legally, on top of even more killed illegally, says Flocken.

Debate in Africa
Although many Africans had not heard of Cecil and are not involved in trophy hunting or tourism, the international outcry has resulted in changes on the continent. Zimbabwe, where the hunt occurred, has suspended hunts of several species in the region where Cecil lived, pending investigations.

After Cecil’s death, a spokesperson for the government of Botswana said, “It is our stern belief that safari hunting of threatened species such as lions has the potential to undermine our regional anti-poaching efforts as it encourages illegal trade which in turn promotes poaching.”

Botswana outlawed trophy hunting in 2013, along with Zambia.

Last month, Hermann Meyeridricks, president of the Professional Hunters’ Association of South Africa (PHASA), asked his membership to reconsider its position on hunting lions in private reserves.

“It has become clear to me that those against the hunting of lions bred in captivity are no longer just a small if vociferous group of animal-rights activists,” wrote Meyeridricks. “Even within our own ranks, as well as in the hunting fraternity as a whole, respected voices are speaking out publicly against it.”

All these recent developments “are good first steps” toward protecting lions, says Flocken. But it’s not yet clear whether long-term changes will result from the death of one of Africa’s most famous lions, because …


Some hunters remain committed

It’s safe to assume most of the people who signed petitions to ban trophy hunting were not trophy hunters. In response to the outcry over Cecil’s death, the hunting association Safari Club International suspended the membership of those involved in his hunt. The group has not responded to request for comment but issued a statement that condemned illegal hunting but upheld the right for people to pursue big game in accordance with local and international laws.

Despite recent criticism, the club continues to support “the conservation of wildlife, protection of the hunter’s rights, and education of the public concerning hunting and its use as a conservation and management tool.”

A pair of Idaho big game hunters also recently made news by defending trophy hunting, calling it “about the pursuit and the adventure of the hunt.

Share your support of big cats by donating $5 and uploading a photo of yourself giving a virtual high five to any social media platform, with the hashtag #5forBigCats. Learn more.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/...ion-hunting-conservation-poll-africa-animals/
 
'Lion King' animator paints beautiful tribute to Cecil the Lion

[video=youtube;Fo2uYjqCdqM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fo2uYjqCdqM[/video]

The sad story of Cecil the Lion has reverberated around the world, as fans mourn the death of one of Africa’s best-known lions.

The Oscar-nominated animator Aaron Blaise knows a thing or two about lions—he worked on the Disney classic The Lion King—and honored Cecil with a beautiful portrait of his face in the clouds, accompanied by a timelapse of the image’s creation.

Naturally, it’s accompanied by a Mustafa quote: ““Look at the stars. The great kings from the past look down upon us from those stars.”

Blaise wrote on his website that he hopes the Cecil tribute helps further raise awareness of the hunting and poaching of African animals.

“As you may be able to tell I am a HUGE animal lover and it drives me crazy when I see these beautiful creatures destroyed for no good reason,” he wrote. “In fact, I’ve decided to get personally involved and hopefully our efforts can help educate people and prevent these horrible things from happening in the future. It’s not much, but hopefully it will make people think.”
 
It's not just lions either. They showed a pix of that woman who killed a giraffe on the news and it made me sick.
I believe it when they say it's the "thrill of the hunt"-conservation is a bunch of bunk.
 
Despite improved education about conservation and environmental issues, humanity globally has still not learned the lesson of the passenger pigeon. I am not optimistic that lions, elephants, rhinos, cheetahs, leopards, tigers and many other species will survive the next 25 years, outside zoo populations. And these zoo populations are too small for them to breed successfully for the indefinite future.

the Passenger Pigeon

Legendary among ornithologists and lay people alike as a symbol of staggering abundance on the one hand and of human greed and indifference on the other, the Passenger Pigeon is arguably North America’s best known extinct species. Historical accounts of its huge flocks appear beyond belief were they not so consistent among independent observers for over three centuries.

It is reported they darkened the sky for hours or even days at a time. The beats of their wings would create drafts that chilled the people over whom they flew.
“But the most remarkable characteristic of these birds is their associating together, both in their migrations, and also during the period of incubation, in such prodigious numbers, as almost to surpass belief; and which has no parallel among any of the other feathered tribes on earth, with which naturalists are acquainted” (Wilson 1812: 102–103).

It is estimated that the Passenger Pigeon was once the most abundant land bird in North America, comprising an estimated 3 billion to 5 billion individuals, perhaps a quarter of the continent’s avifauna (Schorger 1955). The species occurred only in North America, primarily east of the Rocky Mountains, and bred almost exclusively in the eastern deciduous forest. Despite its vast flocks, this pigeon was extinct in the wild by the end of the nineteenth century. Its last representative, the fabled Martha, died on September 1, 1914, in the Cincinnati Zoo.

The key to the Passenger Pigeon's abundance was its nomadic flocking behavior, which allowed it to exploit seasonally superabundant crops of mast and acorns that were unpredictable in space and time. Passenger pigeons nested singly and in groups of all sizes, but the larger part of the population nested in huge colonies. Aggregating in such immense numbers allowed the species to satiate any potential predators, until they attracted the ultimate predator—humans armed with nineteenth-century technology.

The dramatic decline to extinction in the wild occurred over a period of only 40 years. The birds were subjected to unrelenting exploitation as an item of commerce and sport, with human disruption of essentially every nesting colony. During this period, there were no documented uninterrupted and completely successful mass nestings, which were necessary to sustain the population.

http://passengerpigeon.org/about.html
 
barbee0715 said:
It's not just lions either. They showed a pix of that woman who killed a giraffe on the news and it made me sick.
I believe it when they say it's the "thrill of the hunt"-conservation is a bunch of bunk.
Click to expand...

And with that she says that she feels a special "connection" with the kills while hunting. Now in truth, doesn't that sound like a serial killer? Just saying . . .
 
myosotis;4102919 said:
Despite improved education about conservation and environmental issues, humanity globally has still not learned the lesson of the passenger pigeon. I am not optimistic that lions, elephants, rhinos, cheetahs, leopards, tigers and many other species will survive the next 25 years, outside zoo populations. And these zoo populations are too small for them to breed successfully for the indefinite future.
Click to expand...

I was thinking that since of our time (0-2015), humans have progressed a lot and nowadays we are more aware of animals and environment, but still the time is running out for many animals, if you think human progress in last 50 years. I don't know whether the animals you mentioned above can be saved from extinction because progress is slow, not to mention that the rarer animal, the more desirable it is for someone who wants that rare head on their wall.
Here is example article about Northern White Rhino that have armed guards 24/7
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/04/16/africa/kenya-northern-white-rhino/

It is seriously ****ed up world we living in, if rhino have to have armed guard!

There is a little hope if documentaries like Blackfish gets bought and distributed as many countries as possible.

Seaworld’s Profits Drop 84% After Blackfish Documentary

The company acknowledged ongoing "brand challenges" are at least partially to blame

Consumers are still turning their backs on SeaWorld. The embattled marine life theme park company reported steep drops in profits and attendance and on Thursday, marking more loss in the wake of the damning documentary Blackfish.

SeaWorld Entertainment has faced an 84% drop in net second-quarter income, from $37.4 million in 2014 to $5.8 million in 2015, in the second quarter. Revenue fell from $405.1 million to $391.6 million, a drop of 3%, in the second quarter of 2015 when compared to 2014.

The park saw 100,000 fewer visitors than it did at the same time in 2014, a decrease of 2%.

SeaWorld Entertainment blamed the fall in attendance on spring break tourism due to the timing of Easter, record wet weather in Texas, and what the company referred to as “brand challenges” in California. Visitors are still flocking to the SeaWorld location in Florida, on the other hand, which has been able to offset some of the lessened demand in other locations.

“We realize we have much work ahead of us to recover more of our attendance base, increase revenue and improve our performance as returning to historical performance levels will take time and investment,” SeaWorld President and CEO Joel Manby said in a statement.

The company has been struggling to maintain consumer interest in SeaWorld in the wake of Blackfish, which offered a grim look at life in captivity for Orca whales, and has launched a series of campaigns discounts to keep visitors interested.

I'm hoping that Racing to Extinction makes at least an little change once it comes out
Racing Extinction: The Film
In Racing Extinction, a team of artists and activists exposes the hidden world of extinction with never-before-seen images that will change the way we see the planet. Two worlds drive extinction across the globe, potentially resulting in the loss of half of all species. The international wildlife trade creates bogus markets at the expense of creatures that have survived on this planet for millions of years. And the other surrounds us, hiding in plain sight — a world that the oil and gas companies don’t want the rest of us to see. Using covert tactics and state-of-the-art technology, the Racing Extinction team exposes these two worlds in an inspiring affirmation to preserve life as we know it. From the Academy Award® Winning Filmmakers of "The Cove"
 
MIST said:
I think both trophy hunting of wild lions and canned hunting both are terrible.
I hope the new documentary blood lions get as much attenton as blackfish has

Canned hunting exists in the United states too
http://www.bornfreeusa.org/a9d_hunts.php
Click to expand...

I'm not feeling well after seeing that video:puke:

nor after this:
Captive Hunting Facts:

Animals in captive hunts are stocked inside fenced enclosures, often allowing ranches to offer guaranteed trophies, "100 percent success" rates, and advertise "no kill, no pay" policies.

------------

I wish I could decide how to solve this hunting. I would round up all the hunters to the safari park with no weapons of any kinds and let them fight animals fair and square.
 
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The latests petition I signed:

Dear friends,

Hundreds of South African lions are being slaughtered to make bogus sex potions for men. But we can stop this cruel trade by hitting the government where it hurts -- the tourism industry.

A global ban on tiger bone sales has traders hunting a new prize -- the majestic lions. Lions are farmed under appalling conditions in South Africa for "canned hunting", where rich tourists pay thousands to shoot them through fences. Now experts say lion bones from these killing farms are being exported to phony 'medicine' makers in Asia for record profits. Trade is exploding and experts fear that as prices rise, even wild lions -- with only 20,000 left in Africa -- will come under poaching attack.

If we can show President Zuma that this brutal trade is hurting South Africa's image as a tourist destination, he could ban the trade in lion bones. Avaaz is taking out strong ads in airports, tourism websites and magazines, but we urgently need 2 million petition signers to give the ads their force. Sign below and forward this email to build our numbers fast:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/stop_lion_slaughter_for_sex_aides_rb_en_to_nm/?tta

'Tiger bone wine' and other tiger-part medicines were banned after massive international outrage -- now traders have shifted their attention to lions' bones to make all kinds of bogus remedies. Experts say unless governments act now, lions could be the next in line -- after tigers and rhinos -- to face extinction.

There is a solution: banning and punishing the trade of lion bones and organs. South Africa is currently the largest exporter of lion trophies, bones and organs -- it is also the only African country actively breeding lions in large numbers to supply trophy hunting. But if we can show that allowing this senseless trade can hurt South Africa’s booming tourism industry and make visitors flee, president Zuma could be forced to act.

Let’s build a thunderous global roar for the lions. Avaaz will show the cruelty of the lion bone trade with stinging ads -- sign now and tell everyone about it:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/stop_lion_slaughter_for_sex_aides_rb_en_to_nm/?tta

Avaaz members across the world have come together to demand strong protection for rhinos, save the world’s bees from poisonous pesticides and achieve huge marine reserves in Chagos and Australia to safeguard vulnerable marine species. Lets come together once again and stand up for Africa’s lions.

With hope, and determination,

Jamie, Alex, Antonia, Mia, Alice, Ricken, Luca, Emily and the entire Avaaz team

More information:

Avaaz lion bones adverts were censored, finds Constitutional Court (Mail & Guardian)
http://mg.co.za/article/2013-10-25-lion-bones-adverts-censored

Court orders Zuma lion advert to be displayed again at OR Tambo airport (BDlive)
http://www.bdlive.co.za/business/me...ert-to-be-displayed-again-at-or-tambo-airport

Born to be killed (Carte Blanche)
http://beta.mnet.co.za/carteblanche/Article.aspx?ID=4226

The Lion Bone’s Connected to the … Rhino Horn? (Rhinoconservation.org)
http://www.rhinoconservation.org/2012/05/12/the-lion-bones-connected-to-the-rhino-horn/

Wildlife trafficking trail leads to SA safari man (News 24)
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/N...ng-trail-leads-to-SA-safari-operator-20110721
 
After Cecil's brutal murder, I have been reading comments online and have come across the term serial killer when trophy hunter are talked about.
I did a little mini search online of the similarities between human serial killers and animal serial killers. I found an article which put these two together:
Trophy Hunter – Serial Killer?

Is Trophy Hunting a Form of Serial Killing?

There is no doubt in my mind that trophy hunting is a form of serial killing. Gareth Patterson, lion expert, puts it all into perspective, in his 2007 post. His words are even more timely with the brutal murder of Cecil the lion.

===

Lion expert and conservationist Gareth Patterson takes aim

09 Sep 07

For me – and the many people who contact me to offer their support – killing innocent animals for self-gratification is no different from killing innocent people for self-gratification. By extension, then, trophy hunting – the repeated killing of wild animals – should surely be viewed as serial killing. And in the same moral light humanity’s thinking is, I feel, beginning to approach such a level of morality.

What are the comparisons between trophy hunting and serial killing?

To attempt to answer this question, I did some research into the gruesome subject of serial killing. I learnt firstly that serial murder is a grotesque habit which analysts regard as addictive. Serial murder, I learnt, is about power and control – both linked to the killers’ longing to “be important”.

It appears when the serial killer commits the first act of murder, he experiences feelings such as revulsion and remorse, but the killing – like a dose of highly addictive drug – leads to more and more murders until the person is stopped. Researchers have discovered that serial murderers experience a cooling-off period after a killing, but as with a drug craving, the compulsion – the need to kill – keeps building up until the killer heads out again in search of another victim.

Trophy hunters are mostly “repeat” killers. This is further fuelled by elite trophy hunting competitions. It has been calculated that in order for a hunter to win these competitions in all categories at the highest level, he would have to kill at least 322 animals.

Pornography is perceived by analysts as a factor that contributes toward serial killers’ violent fantasies – particularly “bondage-type” pornography portraying domination and control over a victim.

Hunting magazines contain page after page of (a) pictures of hunters, weapon in hand, posing in dominating positions over their lifeless victims, (b) advertisements offering a huge range of trophy hunts, and (c) stories of hunters’ “exciting” experience of “near misses” and danger.

These pages no doubt titillate the hunter, fuelling his own fantasies and encouraging him to plan more and more trophy hunts.

Trophy hunters often hire a camera person to film their entire hunt in the bush, including the actual moments when animals are shot and when they die. These films are made to be viewed later, presumably for self-gratification and to show to other people – again the need to feel “important”?

This could also be seen as a form of trophy which mirrors in some respect pornographic “snuff” videos known to be made by some serial killers. Other serial killers have tape-recorded the screams of their victims, which were kept for later self-gratification.

There is a strong urge to achieve perceived “heroism” in serial murderers. This is linked to the individual’s craving for “self-esteem”. Student Robert Smith, for example, who in November 1996 walked into a beauty parlour in Mesa, Arizona, and shot five women and two children in the back of the heads, said of his motivation to kill: “I wanted to become known, to get myself a name”.

Multiple killer Cari Panzram (among whose victims were six Africans he shot in the back “for fun” while working for an oil company in Africa) once stated of his actions: “I reform people”. When asked how, he replied: “By killing them”. Panzram also liked to describe himself as “the man who goes around doing good”.

The “Stockwell Strangler” of South London in the mid-1980s who told police he wanted to be famous is another example of how the serial killer clearly confuses notoriety for fame.

Are the trophy hunter’s killings linked to the serial killer’s addiction to murder, to achieve what is perceived to be heroism, to deep-rooted low self-esteem, to wanting to be famous – the “name in the trophy book”?

Certainly one could state that, like the serial killer, the trophy hunter plans his killing with considerable care and deliberation. Like the serial killer he decides well in advance the “type” of victim – i.e. which species he intends to target. Also, like the serial killer, the trophy hunter plans with great care where and how the killing will take place – in what area, with what weapon.

What the serial killer and trophy hunter also share is a compulsion to collect “trophies” or “souvenirs” of their killings. The serial killer retains certain body parts or other “trophies … for much the same reason as the big game hunter mounts the head and antlers taken from his prey … as trophies of the chase,” according to Colin Wilson and Donald Seaman in The Serial Killers, a book on the psychology of violence.

In The Serial Killers, the authors wrote about Robert Hansen, an Alaska businessman and big-game enthusiast who hunted naked prostitutes through the snow as though they were wild animals, then shot them dead. Hansen would point a gun at his victim, order her to take off all her clothes, and then order her to run. He would give his victims a “start” before stalking them. The actual act of killing his victims, Hansen once said, was an “anti-climax” and that “the excitement was in the stalking”.

How many times have I heard trophy hunters describing their actions in similar terms? “No, hunting isn’t just about killing,” they say. “It’s also about the stalk, the build-up to the kill”.

Hansen was a trophy hunter, who, according to Wilson and Seaman, had achieved “celebrity by killing a Dall sheep with a crossbow”. He also trophy hunted women but, as a married man with a family, he couldn’t put his human trophies next to those elk antlers and bear skins in his den.

As an alternative, Hansen, it was revealed, took items of jewellery from his victims as “trophies” and hid these in his loft so that, as with his animal trophies, he, the hunter, could relive his fantasy-inspired killings whenever he wished to.

According to Wilson and Seaman, Jack the Ripper cut off one victim’s nose and breasts and “as if they were trophies, displayed them on a bedside table, together with strips of flesh carved from her thighs”.

Jewellery, body parts, clothing such as underwear and so on, are all known “trophies” of the serial killer. One serial killer flayed his victim and made a waistcoat from the skin as a “souvenir” or “trophy”.

What could the non-hunting wives, girlfriends, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers and children reveal of the nature and behaviour of a hunter in the family? Could they reveal that the hunter had a very disturbed childhood?

Almost half the serial killers analysed during behavioural research were found to have been sexually abused in childhood. Environmental problems early in life manifest in many cases in violence such as cruelty to animals. Maybe they have a frustrated craving for “self-esteem”, a deep desire to be recognized, a resentment against society? All these factors are some of the known links to the profile of the serial killer.

Lastly, serial killing has been described as a “20th-Century phenomenon”. The same could be said of Western trophy hunting in Africa.

http://www.bushdrums.com/index.php/...nting-a-form-of-serial-killing-by-g-patterson

https://howlingforjustice.wordpress.com/2015/08/05/trophy-hunter-serial-killer/
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I wonder when trophy hunting or killing animals for sport or fun is going to be recognised as illness, and these people are put mental institution?
 
Video Shows Cecil's Lion Cubs Roaming Zimbabwe National Park



Unbelievable beautiful place. I cannot understand how could anyone look at those animals and then shoot to kill them.
 
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