Been seeing on the news how they are BBQing that dentist for shooting the lion on a legal safari. Seems the guide gave the OK but afterwards realized the mistake. Just like the flag bullshit, now its growing to stop safari's. WTF is this country coming to. The guy legally shot and killed the lion. The flag is part of history. Its getting really stupid in this country.

Granted being tried and convicted in the media is not right.  Yet, the guy has a history less that sportsman like activities.  He received a year's probation.

So, his activities have cost him his dental practice.

He's getting what he deserves.  Paying $50,000+ to kill an animal on the verge of being endangered is not sportsmanship or conservation.  It's greed and ego.  It does all of us a disservice.

The level of outrage raining down on this guy would be unbelievably sickening if it wasn't so completely orchestrated by the MSM.

There are so many, many, many more things in this country, hell this state, deserving of far more public outcry than whether some hunter killed some animal in some other country legally or not.

Be mad because the world has lost a magnificent beast, that's fine, but put it in perspective.

An animal was killed, possibly illegally, in a country thousands of miles away, leading to mass hysterics and public outcry, even calls to kill the hunter.

The president of the USA admitted to lying to the American people in order to pass a law and take control of an industry, leading to exactly zero consequences.

This country's priorities are about as bass ackwards as they can possibly get.

I don't know the process of obtaining the correct license to hunt big game, as has been done for many many years. If he did break the law, let them extradite his ass to stand trial. If he got the proper license, and followed the law, then leave the guy alone. Funny how this one killing brings so much hype, as did the flag issue, but where the hell were folks when other safari's happened? That country makes a ton of money allowing legal safari's. Go bitch at them for allowing it. As for our dumb ass president sticking his nose into it, there are allot more issues at home that need your attention.

Yet without profits from these licenses, those animals would already be extinct.  Just remember that most poaching is done within their country/continent.

If this guy paid the license, they should be blaming his guides.

the "hunter" is known to several DNR officers and has been given warnings repeatedly. (this was already in the news)

He violated laws here and else where domestically. This was also in the news

Nobody pays $55K for a lion hunt in Africa unless they are there illegally. That price for the guides was more than 2x the cost from any other reputable outfit.

Its like buying a Yugo from a Russian mobster for $250,000 and saying "well, I feel like I got a deal" and then find a few severed heads in the trunk.


This guy was not only hunting lions on a preserve....

Care to post the links to the news articles you are quoting from?

He paid a fine for shooting a bear, with the right permit, but in the wrong zone. Like 40 miles away, so it was not like it was a mistake. He reported that it was shot in the zone that he was supposed to shoot it in, and somehow got caught. No idea how you get caught doing this, but it does seem like the sort of thing that one can do often and get caught at rarely.

He was busted for fishing without a  license in about 2003, then busted for illegally snagging a black bear some time after that. Now with this lion, they botch the kill, and once they kill it and find out it's collared, they try to destroy the evidence. How often has your typical driver busted for DUI driven drunk and NOT been busted? This guy shows a pretty clear pattern of not only ignoring laws, but lacking any moral or ethical standards in regard to "hunting", and I have no doubt his past is rife with numerous poaching offenses for which he has never been caught.

I personally hold no respect for trophy hunters (and I ask for no respect from them), but I do acknowledge the need for conservation. There are legitimate hunts and a lot of money can be raised, and the meat is meant to be given to locals, etc etc.

However, I will laugh when I hear things like that one hunter getting trampled to death by an elephant. Seriously...I will laugh a lot.

But this guy reeks, and with his questionable past, I grow weary of people flat out taking his word on being led astray by his guides. In a cesspool like Zimbabwe, it probably does't take a lot to grease the palms and look the other way when a client with a thick wallet wants what he damn well pleases, and I just feel that's what has happened. Maybe he did have the proper papers, but that doesn't mean you can drive at 90 MPH on a public highway because you have a driver's license.

Alas, he got caught, and now, hiding in a corner somewhere, he will be sounding as apologetic and remorseful as he possibly can.

Obviously, I just do not like this guy, and my heart kinda praises those who are making his life hell right now. But at the same time, my head says that's wrong, and it would be best to pack him off to Zimbabwe and face the charges there, and let justice do its thing.

...which I doubt will ever happen...

It is hard to imagine that the guide did not identify the most famous animal in the region. This was a crossbow hunt, not Joe Schmoe shooting at anything brown. Speculating, but I suspect a premium was paid for a chance at a particular animal, they got the shot and took it. The reason that they want to extradite is to get all of the communications involved in setting up the hunt, something like enclosed is a recent pic of Cecil over bait, it will be $50k if you want to try, another $25k if successful to cover penalties, etc. The guide is probably pissed that the hunter made the shot, else he could have just sold the package again to the next guy. Rampant speculation.

Way to much speculation on this. Only way to fix this is to extradite him back, let them figure it out if he broke the law or not, and move on. Just saw last night on the news Delta airlines won't be allowing trophies coming back which seems most animals. That country is about to find out the loss of a ton of money for big game hunting coming to a halt. This got way over blown. Safaries have been going on for many many years. Didn't hear squat on the past ones.

I hunt.  I eat what I kill.  I'm not a fan of trophy hunting, it isn't my thing, but I understand that it funds conservation if done correctly.

Zimbabwe sounds like a third world shithole with plenty of graft and shenanigans that the "done correctly" is probably not something they're very concerned about.  I am of the belief that the Zimbabwe outrage by their conservation outfit is mock outrage after seeing all the reactionaries out with pitchforks.  It feels a little too much like bandwagon jumping to me.  

It also sounds like the dentist is a pretty unethical hunter, even for a trophy hunter.  But passing him off to a third world shithole country with extremely questionable courts is not something our government should be involved in.  The governments job is to protect its citizens, regardless of the outcry of a bunch of offended-by-current-news people with pitchforks.

Good point.

i just Googled it and saw one fully staffed safari hunt in RSA for $24000 plus travel for a Lion Trophy.  

You seem to have some conflicting opinions of Zimbabwe, which I suspect would grow more conflicting if you were the one being packed off to face "justice" in a country that stands to gain ridiculous amounts of attention for trying this fellow.

That's pretty impressive, considering the trophy fee alone for a lion in RSA is $23k...

Price seems to vary

http://www.safaribwana.com/HUNT/lion08.htm

As much as I dislike dumbass hunters who think they are above the law, this guy is probably going to be closing up shop at his dental practice and going with an assumed name from now on.

And that is not something that he deserved to lose, as reports from his patients was that he was good at his practice.

That said, until this goofy incident, I'd never heard of cecil the lion...

Instead of letting the law deal with him IF he broke the law, the media crucified this guy, as did the media with the flag. Its a shame how these sheeple follow the news. Am hoping this guy, if found not guilty, sues the pants off all responsible for killing his business and threatening his life.

Linky...

This article just BARELY scratches the surface of his dealings with the DNR. He is the quintessential "GET THE F*CK OFF MY LAND" asshat as you see standing along side as you drive along a public road. The article only talks about how he acted on his land.. He is a MN mini-version of Ted Turner and his property out west. Turner has pissed off all of his neighbors as well.

The article only talks about Palmer complaining about people on his property. It said nothing about... well ... I'll wait til the DNR comes back with a recent FOIA request.... its the kind of stuff I could get banned for if mod didn't believe me.

Good luck with that... and what law did the media break? (playing devil's advocate)

The fact that he posted stuff online makes him an instant target.

Appreciate what little anonymity you have.

The link you posted talks about his dealings with the DNR are him calling them, nothing about him given repeated warnings.  Sounds more like he was trying to protect his property.  He even tried to make amends with his neighbors by having them over for a get together.

Most of the world is in the same boat.  https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=%22cecil%20the%20lion%22