Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Shooting Cecil the Lion

Accurate Reloading in their African Hunting Forum has a pretty good thread on this topic, ten pages now. Posters there including some ostensibly employed inside Zimbabwe.

Birdwatcher

+1, I'm sick and tired of people going off on stuff they don't know jack schiite about

It first was reported that a "Spaniard" had killed the lion with a crossbow. It now appears an American dentist shot the lion with a compound bow.

It also was reported that the PH was arrested and jailed, but a letter posted on coueswhitetail.com today claims the letter writer is hunting with the PH as you read this.

It still is being reported that the lion was "lured" out of Hwange by driving around with a dead animal on a vehicle's bumper. The letter I just mentioned said the lion was shot off an elephant carcass 2.6 kms from the park's border.

A post on accuratereloading.com by a Zimbabwean claims few in his country knew anything about the "beloved" and "popular" Cecil the lion until the British press began reporting that it had been shot.

Sounds like business as usual in the world of journalism.

Bill Quimby

I kind of doubt shooting a black bear in Wisconsin would ever rise to the level of a felony. would like to know where this tid bit came from. There's a good piece on FB at some RSA area PH, who says, at the most it was a case of poaching, and the hunter might not have been aware. That Cecil was 13 years old already and at that age, beyond breeding and most likely only had about a year to live anyway, so no big deal. Only big deal to the kind of idiots who would name a wild lion.

I kind of doubt shooting a black bear in Wisconsin would ever rise to the level of a felony. would like to know where this tid bit came from. There's a good piece on FB at some RSA area PH, who says, at the most it was a case of poaching, and the hunter might not have been aware. That Cecil was 13 years old already and at that age, beyond breeding and most likely only had about a year to live anyway, so no big deal. Only big deal to the kind of idiots who would name a wild lion.

I am no expert and have never hunted lion and never will however my very good friend hunted lion with this ph two years ago.

We have been talking about this a great deal this week and first off his hunt was completely different being a rifle hunt they cut a track and commenced with trackers over and again over long days until they were able to find his lion.

In a country with 80% unemployment and a system that deals in institutionalized bribery I am not sure we will ever know the facts. I have read quotes from natives wondering why we cared so much about this and why we say nothing when their people and livestock are killed by lions. What I do know is how important hunting is to their economy and hunting is the only real thing that has brought value for these animals to exist there. Eco tourism isn't it.

The only other two tid-bits about this ph is that two of his sons just graduated from ph school. (probably no future for them in Zim) My friend told me this ph had his family property taken from him and given to a local commissioner.

Not to defend him but maybe understand why a seemingly successful ph would risk his lively hood like this?
Is he a byproduct of constantly working in a corrupt system?

I do have a question for a ph. I have heard nothing about a 2nd ph involved and was under the impression there had to be 2 ph's on all dangerous game hunts?

Not a PH, but that's not true. The PH must, however, be fully qualified for DG.

Lovin' this!

Hey Guys:

To summarize news to date:

Are they Kidding ??? Zimbabwe is the most corrupt, racist, disingenuous, duplicitous regime that ever existed! Robert Mugave ! Hesus Christo - cut me a break - please.

Their righteous pretense of indigestion/indignation and chagrin rings hollow.

The Dentist that shot Cecil is a dumb shix moron. He will pay big time. He has already closed his business. He can prolong extradition for many years but he will pay and pay. I'm guessing in excess of $500,000 and quite likely a million before it is over.

Zimbabwe jails are the model of deplorable human depredation. The Dentist will never server a day there. But he will rue he day that he ever shot Cecil.

Instead of b*tching about people b*tching about a poacher, you guys ought to b*tch about guys like this:

From today's Bozeman Chronicle

A Bozeman man admitted to killing a bull moose and a bull elk without a license last fall.

Andrew Shields, 25, pleaded guilty Tuesday to felony unlawful possession of a game animal, three counts of misdemeanor unlawful possession of a game animal and one misdemeanor charge of hunting without a license.

Gallatin County District Judge Holly Brown sentenced Shields to six months in jail and five years with the Montana Department of Corrections. Shields received credit for 106 days previously served in jail. He was also ordered to pay $7,500 in restitution to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

Shields also lost his privilege to hunt, fish and trap in Montana for the rest of his life.

As part of a plea agreement, a count of felony possession of dangerous drugs from another case was dismissed.

At the time he was charged with the animal-related crimes, Shields was on probation for felony DUI and theft.

According to charging documents:

In January, Shields’ probation officer received an email from a man who said that Shields had illegally killed a bull elk and a bull moose during the fall.

The man, who knew Shields, said Shields had killed the elk on a ranch in the southern Bridger Mountains while bow hunting, and then he later killed a bull moose with a rifle in the same area. The man provided a photo of Shields posing with the elk antlers.

In January, Shields was booked in jail for violating conditions of the Treatment Court program. On his cellphone that was confiscated at the time, investigators found photos of Shields holding moose antlers.

During recorded calls from jail to his mother, Shields asked her to get rid of meat in their freezer and garage. He told his mother that no one could prove he actually killed the animals and that they only had a picture of him after they were killed.

Shields later agreed to be interviewed. He said he had killed the bull moose without a license on the Papke Ranch in the Bridger Mountains. He said he used a bow and arrow and it was on the last day of the hunting season, Nov. 30.

Shields also said he went elk hunting three or four times during archery season without a license. However, he said the photo of him with elk antlers was a hoax and that he found the antlers in his uncle’s shed and posed with them to make it look like he killed an elk.

Shields admitted to killing three mule deer bucks, also without a license or special permit, during 2010, 2011 and 2013 on his grandparents’ ranch, which borders the Papke Ranch.

Investigators collected antlers and meat killed by Shields in 2014 as well as the antlers from the three deer he had killed.

The length of the spread of the moose antlers was nearly 48 inches.

Fish, Wildlife and Parks information showed that Shields did not have a hunting license between 2002 and 2014.

In March, Shields was arrested after probation officers found synthetic marijuana at his residence. He was taken to jail and later charged with felony drug possession.

Oh Man! Now we have Jericho, Shot and Killed by Hunter in Zimbabwe. Cecil the Lion is Jericho Brother. More BS coming out of this. They have suspended all Lion Hunting and Elephant hunting,says the article on yahoo.

False report as apparently Jericho is alive and well:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/live-cecil-lions-brother-jericho-6178446

All this talk about lions, prompted me to watch Ghost and the Darkness again.

IMHO the guy is a bit of an ass even before this cat thing happened. I think he has a very shady approach to hunting in general and kind of had it coming eventually.
I do find it interesting though that so many think Cecil was tame or unafraid of people. If I were a perfectly evolved killing machine near the 500 lb mark I probably wouldn't find a 180 man too intimidating either. In fact he probably thought he was more of a menu item. Ask Siegfried and Roy how tame those big cats actually get.... Much like those cute Polar Bears on the Coca-cola commercials that will hunt you donwn and kill your ass for a snack.
I hear a lot of horseshit from so called experts about the decline in Lion numbers in the past years as well. They love to try to place the blame on hunters but to address the true issue one needs to point the finger at the natives who are breeding out of control and sucking up the land. Nothing of that mentioned though. F'n media.

Via facebook:

Cecil deserved to die!!!...

Shane Mahoney just released this excellent video where he goes into detail on all of the benefits of trophy hunting for conservation. It is well worth your time to watch it.

http://www.wideopenspaces.com/watch-shane-mahoney-talks-cecil-lion-trophy-hunting-video/