Scumbag US Dentist Poaches Awesome Lion

MayDay10

Really sickens me. Hope this guy gets what is coming to him

http://deadspin.com/dipshit-midwestern-dentist-identified-as-cecil-the-lion-1720587798?utm_campaign=socialflow_deadspin_facebook&utm_source=deadspin_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

When Cecil, Zimbabwe’s famous lion, was found to have been killed in early July, authorities initially searched for a Spanish killer. But nah. The Telegraph says it’s a trophy-hunting dentist from the Upper Midwest. Of fucking course it’s an American. We are the fucking worst.

Cecil was a major tourist attraction in Hwange National Park; the 13-year-old lion was known for seeming to enjoy visits from humans. He was also wearing a GPS collar as part of an Oxford study on (ha) “the impact of sports hunting on lions living in the safari area surrounding the national park,” according to The Guardian. His killers lured him out of the park at night (hunting lions inside parks is illegal—but then again, so is hunting lions at night), shot him with arrows, stalked him for 40 hours as he weakened from his injuries, then skinned and beheaded him and left his corpse to rot in the wilderness. His six cubs will probably now die, too, as rival males take the opportunity to force their mothers to mate again.

Which is to say, this is fucking awful. Even on the terms of some coldly rational trophy-hunting-is-good-for-the-economies-of-poor-African-nations bullshit, this is a disaster. Cecil was a source of steady income for the local tourism industry, as tourists paid to stay in the nearby lodge and hired guides to find him for photo-ops; he could have kept on doing that for years just by being permitted to live. He already had generated far more money than the $50,000 or so this porcine Midwestern shit-for-brains paid to kill him, and could have done it many times over had he not been killed for no good reason. (He can only be killed once, in case you were wondering.)

More importantly, he was also a living creature who fit neatly into his own goddamn ecosystem, getting along as lions do and not interfering with humans at all. He was none of this dentist’s business. His killing fed no one; addressed no legitimate need; protected nothing but the frail self-image of a mouth-breathing retainer salesman qualified by nothing save the contents of his bank account and boundless sense of entitlement to decide for all the world that a valued inhabitant of it ought to decorate his fucking hearth. By all rights this fucker should have to eat the trophies he collected before he can re-enter society. Pelt and tail and skull and everything

Annafalk

I also got angry reading this story, shameful behavior also from the ones taking the bribe and giving them access. Think about how much joy this great lion gave.

Enkidu

This is disgusting. Twitter is abuzz. I found this - ugh, if you thought the guy was an asshole before, check this out. http://brentsinclair.blogspot.com/2010/09/walt-palmer.html

MayDay10

I would seriously go into hiding if I were him

hedonist

The photo of him with that beautiful leopard turned my stomach.

Fuck you, Walt.

ldent42

It's mostly Americans that do this right? The safari hunting thing? Every story i hear about some dickbag posing with a slaughtered lion or elephant or giraffe etc, its always an American "hunter". Just not sure if that's cuz I'm in America or if it's just cuz it's usually Americans doing this shit.
I bet he's going to have a bunch of people patting him on the back and shit over this. No matter how deplorable the act, there's always some idiots who are going to be supportive of anything that involves guns and "hunting"

Amongst the Ani

Drop him off in the middle of Africa and let the Lions have him. At least they will eat him.

lotsalemon

I don't want to stir the pot, yeah this guy is an ass - whether he's American or not. There's a ton of illegal poaching done by non-Americans so we probably don't want to lump this in as an "American hunter" thing.

MayDay10

The internet is doing quite well on this guy

PJSiren

Illegal hunting of our large animals like this no mater where it's done or by whom, makes me sick...I find them all disgusting!

Lizard

just so disgusting.. i cannot wrap my head around that mind-set

lotsalemon

These people with so much money at their disposal have nothing else to do to keep them busy, so they decide they want to hunt a lion, rhino or whatever. I don't think very many people will ever understand the mindset.

You want to make big game hunting accepted, then stick the hunted and hunter in a fenced reserve, no weapons, and see who comes out the winner!

hedonist

lotsalemon said:

These people with so much money at their disposal have nothing else to do to keep them busy, so they decide they want to hunt a lion, rhino or whatever. I don't think very many people will ever understand the mindset.

You want to make big game hunting accepted, then stick the hunted and hunter in a fenced reserve, no weapons, and see who comes out the winner!

I don't think it's so much the money at hand as it is the character (or lack thereof) within.

Shit, if I won the lottery, doing anything remotely close to this wouldn't even enter my mind.

In fact, I'd build a fucking preserve to keep these animals safe from assholes like him.

eeriepadave

First heard about this through Ricky Gervais' facebook page. RIP Cecil! he looked like a gorgeous lion!

hedonist

eeriepadave said:

First heard about this through Ricky Gervais' facebook page. RIP Cecil! he looked like a gorgeous lion!

All lions are gorgeous

And, the name Cecil kicks ass.

RKCNDY

So I saw some news blurb about the guy...he 'apologized'. i don't buy it.

I understand hunting for sport AS LONG AS YOU EAT WHAT YOU KILL. Eye for an eye here...let's shoot him with an arrow and watch Mr. Smiles gimp around for 40 hours, then maybe finish him off. He's already killed enough big game.

hedonist

Yeah, he's all apologies.

"With my gun, with my gun I feel as one."

Once again, fuck you, Walt!

eeriepadave

hedonist said:

eeriepadave said:

First heard about this through Ricky Gervais' facebook page. RIP Cecil! he looked like a gorgeous lion!

All lions are gorgeous

And, the name Cecil kicks ass.

true. Love the "cat" family. lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs, jaguars, panthers and of course the household kind as well

Sarah

I can't stop thinking about this. As an animal lover, it makes me angry and disgusted.

samjam

This story is infuriating. RIP Cecil :(

Also, Kimmel responded to the story on his show last night:
buzzfeed.com/richardhjames/jimmy-kimmel-breaks-down-in-tears-while-discussing-the-killi#.lh81ZKb8J

Amongst the Ani

At least Karma is getting him. His office is shut down from all the death threats. He has gone into hiding.

Poor Cecil.