Cecil the Lion---dead at the hands of a hunter

[Catherine]

This is such a sad story. Cecil has lived in a protected game park in Zimbabwe and has been part of a wildlife study. No doubt he had some trust in humans.

He was lured from the park to private lands where American dentist, Walter James Palmer shot him first with an arrow and then a long time later with a gun. Even though Cecil was wearing a tracking collar, the beheaded him.

The man is no better than a poacher. He should be charged as such.

http://news.google.ca/news/url?sr=1&ct2=...t=1&at=dt0

http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/29/entertainm...lion-feat/

The guides back in Africa have been charged. Back home the dentist has not reopened his office. Public opinion is pretty strong against him. Would you go to a dentist who would kill a lion?
http://news.google.ca/news/url?sr=1&ct2=...t=1&at=dt0
It is upsetting that he killed Cecil, but it would be upsetting if he killed any lion or even any animal.

I just hope there is some justice here.
At least there are consequences.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2...cial-media

There is even a Wikipedia page about it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Cecil_the_lion

I hope Palmer feels very uneasy right now.

[LPC]

I read about this case yesterday but was too busy to post a reply. The dentist's Facebook page has been suspended because it has been flooded with criticism of his action. People are also flooding his Yelp page - see http://www.yelp.com/biz/river-bluff-dental-bloomington - and putting in five star reviews (as they go to the top and get noticed), or one star reviews (saying "I would never go to a dentist who......") with lots of comments about his killing of the lion. Yelp are removing these reviews, but each one has to be read by a member of staff first - and people are posting them faster than they can remove them!

This dentist has a previous conviction for illegal hunting (fined for killing a bear outside of an authorised area), so he is a persistent killer of wildlife. Yet he has not been charged - even though the local people have been arrested already.

This case reminds me of Kendall Jones, the lion killer of last year - mentioned in the Guardian article you mentioned above.

[Tobi]

Now why would that man need to kill a lion? Except for some silly egotistical reason which hopefully has backfired on him very badly. Someone should tell him that people used to do stupid and cruel things like that for no good reason but cruelty was never cool and isn't now.

Here is a petition calling for Palmer to be extradited to Zimbabwe to face justice for Cecil's brutal killing:

http://forcechange.com/145681/cecil-the-...-296539949

[Catherine]

I am glad you found a petition. I am sure there are others and I will post them if I find them.

Someone leaked his address on twitter. The consequences for Cecil and his offspring are not over, so why should they be over for Palmer.

He is a incorrigible animal killer and will not stop until he is forced to stop. This time he has brought a firestorm of anger down on his life.
I hope life as he knows it is never the same. Certainly he will never recover his public image. The internet is forever.

I would like to see him extradited to Zimbabwe. If that doesn't happen he will always have to watch where he travels. He can be arrested in another country and sent to Zimbabwe.

Maybe Cecil's last legacy will be to end trophy hunting in Africa(and other countries). So called hunters might think twice when they realize they could get the "palmer treatment" if they kill an animal like that. Cecil's cruel death shouldn't be in vain.

[LPC]

The Yelp campaign (constantly posting sarcastic reviews) is going well. Yelp is deleting rapidly, but people are reposting just as fast. This man should not get the chance to reopen his practice, as he would use part of his substantial income to fund new hunting. He is a hardened hunter and his letter to patients does not say that he will stop hunting wild animals, only that he regrets disruption to his patients (I bet he does!). If he said that he would not hunt wild animals again, things might settle down. But he hasn't said that at all.

Yelp seems to be bent on protecting him by removing these reviews, but people are still reposting so fast and in such numbers that it cannot cope. Yelp shares have also taken a big dive in the past few days, possibly a result of lack of public confidence. Reviews of other companies are being left unexamined, as it has devoted its staff to protecting him. If the momentum is kept up, it will no longer have the staff resources to protect this man.

[Tobi]

He seems to be unrepentant and rather silly. Maybe he will learn as a result of the consequences of his actions. But some people do take a long time to learn and will blame their demise on others!

I had never heard of "Yelp" LPC! I will have to take a look at it.

What is very heart-warming is the number of people who are appalled at what Mr Palmer has done.

It is easy to forgive people who have to hunt for food because they would have no food otherwise. And if the kill is humane and swift. But those who hunt for sport or egotistical reasons have little sympathy among people today.

[Catherine]

The response has been very strong hasn't it. You could understand protests in Zimbabwe where the animal is known. It is very good news that so many people are reacting to Palmer directly. He is being hit from all angles. His dental office site has become a memorial to Cecil.
Yelp will have to choose between helping Palmer and keeping the business alive for the sake of its other customers.

I agree that Palmer is not the least bit sorry for what he has done.
He regrets the firestorm of reaction against him. If he could make it go away he would.

This may not stop him wanting to hunt, but it will finish his chances to kill again. He is going to be watched until he admits what he has done

[Tobi]

Mr Palmer is making excuses now, saying he didn't know he was being guided to an illegal kill. That is 'passing the buck' and trying to wriggle out of his guilt, and doesn't appear to be changing anyone's views.

He should have gone skydiving instead to 'prove his shaky masculinity'?? Or done some "Tom Cruise" stunts! If he had done that he would have gained some respect....

[Catherine]

I would have respected him if he had volunteered at an animal shelter or helped an elderly neighbour.
People who do good for others deserve to be respected. People who kill for trophies should not be respected.

There is no Nobel Prize for trophy hunting!

[Catherine]

I don't think this is going to go away. Cecil's death is causing people to look at trophy hunters. The victim has a name and face now. Cecil could well become the symbol of a movement to ban trophy hunting in favor of the gentler, sustainable ecotourism.

Peta had some strong things to say about trophy hunters.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/11529...euro-trash

There would be few places someone could boast of being a trophy hunter. No one with a business could risk it. No CEO or major executive could admit to being a trophy hunter. Companies would have to fire him or risk losing business. The average person is upset about Cecil's death and most companies need the average person to do business with them There are more of us.


There is already a positive effect in Zimbabwe.
http://www.todayonline.com/world/africa/...on-killing

Let us hope this is the beginning of the end of something that should never have started.