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by Kelsey Pape
The King of Spain; The CEO of Go Daddy, Bob Parsons; Jimmy Johns Founder, Jimmy John Liatutaud; Donald Trump’s sons, Donald Jr. and Eric; What do they all have in common? Trophy Hunters. |
Everyone in the U.S. heard about last summer's tragic loss of Cecil, the thirteen year old lion who was being tracked and studied by the University of Oxford. He was shot and killed by trophy hunter, Walter Palmer on July 1st. While Palmer was relentlessly shamed by animal rights activists around the world, mainly in Florida, where his vacation home was spray painted with the words, "Lion Killer", the legal repercussions for Palmer were very minimal. Unfortunately, the killing of lions, despite their endangered status, is not outlawed in Zimbabwe. There are simply quotas in place for the killing of lions in certain areas of Zimbabwe, and Cecil was killed in an area where there was no quota in place.
The assumption is often that trophy hunters kill rare animals that are on the brink of extinction for some sort of great financial gain. While this is sometimes the case, like killing elephants for ivory, many trophy hunters actually paylarge sums of money that only the wealthiest of society could afford to pay just to get the chance to hunt and kill an animal that is so rare. The closer an animal is to extinction, the more it allures the trophy hunter to stalk, kill and mount its head. Like a custom made suit, the head of an animal that no one, or very few, possess is the ultimate desire of the esteemed trophy hunter.
The assumption is often that trophy hunters kill rare animals that are on the brink of extinction for some sort of great financial gain. While this is sometimes the case, like killing elephants for ivory, many trophy hunters actually paylarge sums of money that only the wealthiest of society could afford to pay just to get the chance to hunt and kill an animal that is so rare. The closer an animal is to extinction, the more it allures the trophy hunter to stalk, kill and mount its head. Like a custom made suit, the head of an animal that no one, or very few, possess is the ultimate desire of the esteemed trophy hunter.
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Sadly, the hunting and killing of endangered species for sport is not as rare of an occurrence as most would hope. Many of well known, wealthy members of society take up this hobby with two of the most infamous recently being Donald Trump’s sons and Jimmy John Liautaud, owner of Jimmy John’s gourmet sandwich deli.
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Another particularly disturbing example occurred in 1997 when there were a reported, mere 100 Kara Tau argali sheep left in the world. Kenneth Behring, a trophy hunter and former president of the Safari Club International paid the Kazakhstan government. He then donated $100 million dollars to the Smithsonian as a bribe of sorts. The museum then aided him in his effort to acquire a permit to import the animal. As shocking as it is, it is not uncommon for museums to work in cahoots with trophy hunters.
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Trophy hunting is not an uncommon hobby for the wealthy who seek to continuously up their status in society.
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What's a better symbol of wealth and status than the head of a lion hanging over your stonewall fireplace? Many celebrities and millionaire socialites pay big bucks to local governments that are suffering financially to kill their endangered residents. Every so slowly, the restrictions and outlaws on the killing of endangered species for sport are moving forward. However, with so many species growing closer to extinction with each passing day there's not a lot of time to waste. As disheartening as the news of the death of Cecil The Lion was, it has made a positive impact. More attention has been drawn to trophy, and the outrage of millions is a positive step forward towards ending the senseless killing of endangered species. If you'd like to help those making an effort to fight for this cause you can donate to IDA (In Defense of Animals) at www.idausa.org.
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