Cecil
the Lion was illegally shot by an American hunter, but he’s not the
only animal in danger from trophy-hunting tourism. (Photo: Andy Loveridge/Wildlife Conservation Research Unit via AP)
I
admit it. When I read the account of Cecil the lion’s untimely and
insidious demise, I wanted to find Walt Palmer, and those who enabled
him, and scratch their eyes out.
I
wanted to scream when I read that they had baited him so they could
lure Cecil out of a protected reserve and on to private property where
Palmer shot him with a bow and arrow. I wanted to cry when I thought of
that magnificent creature wounded and in pain for 40 hours while the men
tracked him down and gleefully ended his life with bullet.
Yet
I am buoyed by the fact that people around the world have taken this
tragedy to heart and have raised their collective hands in outrage. I
empathize with the hateful feelings that are being flung at Palmer
online and elsewhere, but I wish everyone would stop now and use all
those powerful emotions for more a productive end.
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