> No one cares about animals being killed on mass so we can eat them, i know i don't, but oh no, a lion is killed, they are running out of those in Zimbabwe.
It's not about animal death, it's about killing an iconic animal (a lion) which we're already in danger of losing entirely. And -- to make it worse -- killing it for no other reason than for some kind of misguided personal glory. And on top of that doing so in a way that smacks of old school rapacious colonialism.
> Everyone will forget about this "massive tragedy" in a few weeks anyway.
Sadly, yes. And when you finally see that news report in a few decades about how the last wild lion finally got poached, well, you can rest assured that we'll all forget about that "massive tragedy" in a few weeks, as well. No harm, no foul.
Census 2004: Total estimates between 660 and 1415 Lions remaining in the protected (well studied) areas of Zimbabwe. Includes 15 big locations for this small country.
Source:
Bauer, Chardonet & Nowell (2006)
Status and distribution of the lion in E-S Africa.
Bauer,H.(2003) Lion conservation in West and Central Africa. PhD Thesis, Leiden University, The Netherlands
My outcry stems from the fact that a wild lion is a rare, beautiful creature and we should be extra careful with them because I think we all would like to live in a world where out children, grandchildren, and people far into the future can continue to experience and admire these creatures.
So if you're asking if I care about people hunting lions legally? I don't like it and find it offensive, cruel, and destructive.
If you're asking whether I care about people hunting deer or rabbits? I don't like it, but I also recognize that it's much more complicated. And I don't think we're in danger of hunting those species out of existence, so it's a bit of a lesser issue. Also, eating when you've hunted does change the equation. I'm not a vegetarian. I understand that animals die so I can eat meat. Whether that's moral is a completely different issue.
> My outcry stems from the fact that a wild lion is a rare, beautiful creature and we should be extra careful with them because I think we all would like to live in a world where out children, grandchildren, and people far into the future can continue to experience and admire these creatures.
So it's again just about "us", about our own perverse pleasure of experiencing and projecting our own suppressed wilderness fantasies onto other sentient beings? And if the creature isn't "beautiful" by some random standard, well, sucks to be them? That's the exact "logic" all the trophy hunters have, they want to experience the majestic wilderness and be a part of the "circle of life" by a playing a faked game of life and death with a powerful beast. After all, where's the grandeur in hunting a mere cow, right? Of course, all in a highly controlled and for them completely safe and alienated fashion, with practically zero risk of being killed themselves.
> Also, eating when you've hunted does change the equation.
Unless you're in a specific situation where you're environmentally forced to hunt in order to survive, I don't see how it changes anything. Would you be willing to let your cat or dog be hunted by your neighbors on the condition that they eat them?
So it's again just about "you" and your own perverse desire to not hunt and eat my cat? And if a creature isn't "my cat" by some random standard, well, sucks to be them?
Heh, I actually wanted to placate that post with disclaimers along the lines of "or any other animal, regardless of 'legal' status and 'ownership', and I do not condone hunting and/or eating said animals by others". I know you're kidding, but ... yeah, geekish pseudo-OCD. Aaaand do note that in my original post I was referring to your neighbor specifically, you're the one who implicated me into this whole mess!
Well, yes.
> No one cares about animals being killed on mass so we can eat them, i know i don't, but oh no, a lion is killed, they are running out of those in Zimbabwe.
It's not about animal death, it's about killing an iconic animal (a lion) which we're already in danger of losing entirely. And -- to make it worse -- killing it for no other reason than for some kind of misguided personal glory. And on top of that doing so in a way that smacks of old school rapacious colonialism.
> Everyone will forget about this "massive tragedy" in a few weeks anyway.
Sadly, yes. And when you finally see that news report in a few decades about how the last wild lion finally got poached, well, you can rest assured that we'll all forget about that "massive tragedy" in a few weeks, as well. No harm, no foul.