Let me start off by first stating that I am not at all opposed to hunting and both a way of life and sport. However, there are times when big game hunting by rich tourists become sadistic. Yes, I understand that these tourism hunting do help with keeping these conservatories funded, but often these animals are older animals, who are more burden than good in the wild. This latest story of the illegal hunting, beheading, and skinning of a well known lion named Cecil isn't one of those stories.
As the latest updates are coming in, a Minnesota based dentist named Walter Palmer was behind the illegal hunting. While he states that he was duped by his guides, he had previously pled guilty to poaching of a black bear several years ago, so he does have a past history of poaching. Not only that, he sounds like a scumbag as he also settled on a sexual harassment suit. Obviously, we know what kind of Internet retribution can be dealt out, and it appears that this asshole is getting some much deserved loving from the Internet.
The truly sad thing is that the death of this pride leader lion may lead to the death of several (maybe even up to a dozen from some reports) cubs as a new alpha male will kill off all of Cecil's cubs. Ugh.
A big-game hunter from the Twin Cities acknowledged Tuesday that he killed a beloved lion in Zimbabwe with a bow and arrow, but said he regrets what he did and believed that his guides were leading him on a legal hunt.
Walter J. Palmer, 55, of Eden Prairie, a practicing dentist in Bloomington, issued a statement addressing the killing on July 1 of Cecil, which has sparked outrage around the globe.
“I hired several professional guides, and they secured all proper permits,” the statement read. “To my knowledge, everything about this trip was legal and properly handled and conducted.
“I had no idea that the lion I took was a known, local favorite, was collared and part of a study until the end of the hunt. I relied on the expertise of my local professional guides to ensure a legal hunt.”
Palmer, who has on his record a conviction for poaching a bear in Wisconsin several years ago, said he has not been contacted by any authorities in Zimbabwe or the U.S. about his killing the lion, but added he will cooperate with investigators. The public relations firm that worked with Palmer on the statement said he was in the Twin Cities on Tuesday. |
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And people are giving 5 star reviews so their reviews are filtered to the top so even the 5 star ones are bad. His business is fucked. I see Jews pieces each month about business going under. Many of them stem from bad online riviews which slowly stall business growth. It's the world we live in now, fair or not. For this guy, it's more than fair.
Some would for sure, most likely won't.
I think this is the effective counterpoint to Friedman's bullshit assertion that anti-discrimination regulations are idiotic.
The bully pulpit of the internet does not wield a scalpel.
News pieces was what should have been said.
News pieces was what should have been said.
Too late. DESTROY HIM, INTERNET!
Very offensive.
Always looking at the brighter side of things...you make me sick!
Always looking down on everyone.
I don't know...I thought lions were friends with warthogs...
And I seriously doubt that he didn't know that his kill was illegal, especially with the whole tracking device being on the lion. And with his previous history of poaching and lying to the authority, the dude is a scumbag sack if lying shit.
And I seriously doubt that he didn't know that his kill was illegal, especially with the whole tracking device being on the lion. And with his previous history of poaching and lying to the authority, the dude is a scumbag sack if lying shit.
IMO Ronnie nailed this guy.
Pardon if the attached video has already been linked.
The man who killed Cecil the lion. - ( New Window )
To my valued patients:
As you may have already heard, I have been in the news over the last few days for reasons that have nothing to do with my profession or the care I provide for you. I want you to know of this situation and my involvement
In addition to spending time with my family, one of my passions outside dentistry is hunting. I’ve been a life-long hunter since I was a child growing up in North Dakota. I don’t often talk about hunting with my patients because it can be a divisive and emotionally charged topic. I understand and respect that not everyone shares the same views on hunting.
In early July, I was in Zimbabwe on a bow hunting trip for big game. I hired several professional guides and they secured all proper permits. To my knowledge, everything about this trip was legal and properly handled and conducted.
I had no idea that the lion I took was a known, local favorite, was collared and part of a study until the end of the hunt. I relied on the expertise of my local professional guides to ensure a legal hunt.
I have not been contacted by authorities in Zimbabwe or in the U.S. about this situation, but will assist them in any inquiries they may have.
Again, I deeply regret that my pursuit of an activity I love and practice responsibly and legally resulted in the taking of this lion. That was never my intention.
The media interest in this matter – along with a substantial number of comments and calls from people who are angered by this situation and by the practice of hunting in general – has disrupted our business and our ability to see our patients. For that disruption, I apologize profoundly for this inconvenience and promise you that we will do our best to resume normal operations as soon as possible. We are working to have patients with immediate needs referred to other dentists and will keep you informed of any additional developments.
On behalf of all of us at River Bluff Dental, thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
Walter J. Palmer, DDS
River Bluff Dental
I'll play along. So say that he didn't realize until after the lion had been killed that it was a protected lion due to his tracking collar. Was he ever going to come forward and admit his (and his guides') mistake? Or was he going to play the same dumb game that he played in his previous poaching expedition when not only did he move the bear carcass to make it seem like it was killed in a sanction area but also lie to federal agents about it? Was he going to ever own up to his "mistake" as he calls it if he wasn't caught? Or was he going to merely marvel at the trophy head of Cecil, as he hoped that no one would ever find out about his actions?
While I may not agree with his choice of a hobby, I won't hold it against him for his desire to kill animals with his bow and arrow as long as they are done legally and with proper precautions. However, when his latest action stinks of similar unscrupulous dishonesty/deception as his previous action with poaching the bear (which he admitted to and was punished for), it's hard to see him as anything but a scumbag, who is now contrite because he was caught and is feeling the backlash. I'm not sure that I even buy the sincerity in his apology and am not sure if he even give a shit about the second order effects of his killing, which may/will lead to the deaths of many other members of that pride. He's doing a masterful job of deflecting the blame to his local "professional" guides.
In the end, mistakes are made, but people own up to them. I doubt that this asshole would have ever owned up to his if not caught and bludgeoned by the public.
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attack those cute warthogs.
I don't know...I thought lions were friends with warthogs...
Odds of that happening?
Odds of that happening?
We'll see. I'm sure if given an immunity and a hefty fine, he will cooperate. Otherwise, I doubt that he will put himself in a position to get potential jail time in Zimbabwe, no matter what he says now.
He is getting death threats and his family is in hiding.
A tad bit of an overreaction.
He is getting death threats and his family is in hiding.
A tad bit of an overreaction.
I can never understand how so easily some people wish death on another person. Pathetic
He is getting death threats and his family is in hiding.
A tad bit of an overreaction.
Agree. The whole death threat thing in this Internet age is pretty dumb, especially when it's posted by people using their personal facebook and twitter accounts. Don't these people know that they aren't anonymous when they make these idiotic threats?
My impression from past conversations with hunters is that thrill-seeking Ernest Hemingway/Teddy Roosevelt-wannabe tourists like Dr. Palmer are not very well regarded.
Btw, one of the likely tragedies here is the strong likelihood that the new alpha male, who is already known, will kill all existing cubs in the pride, based upon an instinctual tendency to maintain his own gene pool. Several articles have noted that the females with cubs will now immediately go into heat in an attempt to distract him, but it doesn't usually work. I am confident that if this occurs, it will be tracked, and the blame laid at the dentist's door. Contempt for him would then spike again.
The question is a tricky one. I think most of us would agree that it's fine for Wyoming to sell fishing licenses to fund efforts to protect endangered species. And most are repulsed by Zimbabwe selling licenses and quotas to tour operators that allow them to bait lions out of their protected habitats to be shot by rich tourists. Even if we believe that the money is needed for conservation efforts, and is being used that way, the repugnance remains. So where do you draw the line?
One surprising aspect of the Palmer case is how incredibly close his hunt was to being legal.
"Are you saying that all this noise is about a dead lion? Lions are killed all the time in this country," said Tryphina Kaseke, a used-clothes hawker on the streets of Harare. "What is so special about this one?"
"Why are the Americans more concerned than us?" said Joseph Mabuwa, a 33-year-old father-of-two cleaning his car in the center of the capital. "We never hear them speak out when villagers are killed by lions and elephants in Hwange."
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“The client then fired using a bow and arrow, and it went away into the long grass. This was about 10 pm.”
Mr Bronkhorst said he had a sense that the lion was hit, but could not be sure.
“Bow and arrow wounds are different to gun wounds, and they don’t show much. But we couldn’t do anything that night.”
The four men went home for the night before returning to search for Cecil at dawn the next day.
“I was worried about the lion and what had happened,” said Mr Bronkhorst.
“We got there about 9am, and we found it and it was wounded, and the client then shot it, with his bow and arrow, and killed it.”
It was then the hunters went over to it, and saw it had a collar.
“I was devastated,” said Mr Bronkhorst, who immediately saw that he had killed a protected lion.
“I could not have seen the collar at night. We would never shoot a collared animal. I was devastated, and so was the client, we were both upset, and I panicked and took it off and put it in a tree.
“I should have taken it to Parks [the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlfe Management Authority], I admit that. So we did what had to be done. We took the head and skin, as the client had paid for the trophy.
“I went to Parks and reported what had happened. I wish I had taken the collar.
“We then went back to my place near Hwange. The client asked if we would find him an elephant larger than 63 pounds, [the weight of one tusk] which is a very large elephant, but I told him I would not be able to find one so big, so the client left the next day and went to Bulawayo for the night and then flew out [to Johannesburg] midday the following day.
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Also this asshole claimed in a statement that he would cooperate fully with authorities if asked to. Only problem is that the dickhead has disappeared now:
“I’m sure he knows” the government is looking for him, Ed Grace, chief of law enforcement for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, told The Washington Post on Thursday. “We’ve made repeated attempts to try and get in contact with him.”
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Animal psychic says she has talked to Cecil, and the dead lion has a lot to say - ( New Window )