“Hunting is not a sport. In a sport, both sides
should know they’re in the game.”
Paul Rodriguez

This week we all learned about the cold-blooded murder of Cecil the lion. Cecil was shot and killed by American dentist, Walter James Palmer.

When the story first hit the airwaves, Palmer was interviewed and said that he was unaware the lion was from a National Park and was a local tourist favorite. He said he would cooperate with authorities to find out how this happened. However, now the Feds report they are looking for the dentist and he is nowhere to be found.

In the news today we learned that Wildlife officials accuse two men of taking over $50,000 from Palmer in order to coax Cecil out of the Hwange National Park and onto private land, where he was beheaded and skinned. Johnny Rodrigues, chairman of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, said Palmer is the one who fatally shot the creature.

The news of Cecil’s killing made me sick to my stomach. The thought that an animal living for years on a National Park could be shot down in cold-blood makes me angry. How can Palmer find sport in killing animals in the wild let alone ones that are basically in a San Diego Wildlife Park.

Conservation experts who have been tracking the lion for seven years told NBC News on Wednesday that Walter James Palmer’s actions could spark a “cascade of effects” — leading to rival lions killing many as 10 cubs in Cecil’s pride.

The outrage over Cecil’s slaughter has ignited the world to take notice about what is happening to wild life in Africa and throughout the World. A petition was recently started to demand justice for Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe. This petition requires 1million signatures and would help put an end to trophy hunting.

Hunting isn’t the only threat to wild animals, nor is it the biggest. Conservationist also point to loss of habitat and poaching is as big a threat. Animals such as the Rhino are in danger. More than 1,200 Rhino’s were killed last year. African elephants population is down more than 64% in the last decade, and it’s estimated that poachers kill 100 elephants daily.

It’s no doubt that Cecil’s death has touched a nerve throughout the world. The fact that a lion such as Cecil can be slaughtered so easily just shows what a slippery slop we are on when it comes to protecting Africa’s amazing wild life.

No amount of money can replace the wild life that is killed each day by sport hunters and poachers. We can only hope that this sad news will not be forgotten as well as the outrage about the killing of Cecil.

Shine On