Chipolopolo,
I find it astonishing that somebody who claims to have thought so deeply about sport hunting has never read Jose Ortega y Gasset.
I find it equally astonishing that you could seriously post this about taking and displaying trophy photos: "We as sportsmen have been responsible for the rapid coming end of hunting Elephants and Lions."
Trophy hunters, whatever their motivation, are among the primary reasons there IS any hunting for lions and elephants. If not for the safari industry's money and time in the field, more African wildlife would disappear, as it has in countries where safari hunting has been shut down. What happens then is poaching takes over, normally with the complicity of the country's government officials. Poaching of lions and elephants is big business these days, and can usually be traced back to Chinese demand, whether for "medicinal" or status desires. That is the real threat to both species, NOT posting photos on Facebook.
Are you some sort of troll, or really as ignorant as you appear? Yes, you have the right to express your opinions here, but....
Mule Deer,
You surely can't be serious. I don't need to have read Gasset to have deeply seeded moral and philosophical beliefs as to these thoughts. I read much and write some.
My point about Facebook missed it's mark with you. I personally have done much for conservation all throughout Africa, I dare say substantially more than most have.
The point is this; The great unwashed masses of Americans that sit on the fence about hunting for Lions and Elephants are being educated by our opposition. The pictures all over Facebook, allow our opposition to define us, we do not have the opportunity to define ourselves. public opinion my friend.
Lets say the entire universe of African hunters is 10,000 per year. (Craig Boddingtons numbers, not mine) out of that 10K perhaps 1000 shoot a Jumbo. there are right around 400 lions shot yearly. some of those Lion hunters surely contain some of the same Elephant hunters so lets say the number is 1200.
So, out of 350 million Americans there are 1200 that hunt Lions and Elephants. You think we are going to win with those numbers? I don't.
They only way to push the end as far down the road as is possible is, for us the KEEP OUR COLLECTIVE MOUTHS SHUT. (keeping the photos off social media) I am well aware of the hunter/conservation model. I served on the BOD of SCI for 11 years, so I get it. Lots of people react as you do when they first read or hear my message. What we are doing isn't working.
I hunted CAR last year for 24 days. In 24 days, I only saw a handful of Elephant tracks. All those tracks had human tracks in tow. During the days and some nights we could hear AK47's off in the distance. The Sudanese Elephant Poachers, killing Elephants to fund their human rights atrocities in Sudan. The Chinese purchase the ivory, it's no secret, there isn't a politician alive with the appetite to take on China.
These poachers are hard men, walking around in the bush, some on donkeys. They kill the Elephants, remove the ivory and walk behind the camel trains loaded with ivory to Khartoum where they sell the ivory. I ran into a group of 7 riding on donkeys. These were the fiercest looking men I 'd ever seen. Their long thin faces told me everything I needed to know. They wore jungle fatigues and berets. Their donkeys had blankets on their backs, hiding the AK's from sight. They bore no hostility towards myself or the hunting party. Just traded glances and we parted ways
Our goals are mutual, our passions the same. I just think the way to further our own effort is to keep under the radar. Not a troll, a passionate sportsman. Not afraid to engage, willing to learn.
