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Cecil the lion’s killer may have trouble avoiding extradition
Walter Palmer, the wealthy big-game hunter who killed a famous lion, could be headed back to Africa — if the Zimbabwe government has its way.
On Friday, officials in Zimbabwe said they intended to press ahead with a request to extradite Palmer for killing a lion known as Cecil just outside a sanctuary where the animal was protected. Later, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that it had finally contacted Palmer, a dentist who had shuttered his practice in Minnesota a few days ago and disappeared.
The Fish and Wildlife agency’s law enforcement office said that a representative for Palmer “voluntarily reached out to the service” Thursday afternoon and that its “investigation is ongoing.” Cecil the lion
The discussion was what would you do if you were in Zimbabwe and found out you committed a crime, as this guy says his guides told him it was a legal hunt. You said he should have gone to the authorities immediately and tell them, not come back to the United States. I was asking if you honestly would turn yourself in and face thirld world justice. I gave a hypothetical to see if you really would want yourself or a loved one to be tried in a court over there, and my hypothetical happens in real life. Don't act like it's not similar. If we accept Palmer's account at face value, then he committed a crime accidentally, just as the person who has heroin slipped in their bag committed an accidental crime.
And just because they appear to have a fair justice system on paper, does not make that so.
I said it wouldn't have been as big a deal if he had, and I stand by that. What I would do is irrelevant because I have no desire to go to a country where I felt I would be in danger if I broke the law even accidentally, therefore I wouldn't have been there if I felt that way.
Regardless of whether this man or anyone would have admitted his guilt, my statement was that IF he had it would not have become the huge deal it is now, and I stand by that opinion.
I am not anti hunting but I would like to see the keeping and displaying of trophies made illegal. If these idiots couldn't gloat over dead animals, hang their heads on the wall and make rugs of the skins many would stop because it's about their egos.
We don't allow soldiers to pose with enemy solders killed in war, even though their deaths may be within our law.
If they couldn't brag and post body parts in their man caves then the value proposition to them changes.
Hell, most people in Zimbabwe are facing much greater problem that require their attention. The economy is so bad there and so many people live so far below the poverty line that crowds of Zimbabweans are surrounding and attacking wild giraffes, zebras, and other big game for food. So no, they don't care as much about Cecil the lion being killed as a lot of comparatively wealthy Westerners with access to Twitter do...
Yeah, all the local lodge owners and safari tour operators who were taking in thousands a day from safari photos of Cecil and are now having tourists cancel....what do they care?
(Sigh) So, she can now be demonized, as well. Trophy hunting ain't my bag. Never did see any sense in it. However, I don't see any sense in going after someone's family because you think they are an Elmer Fudd, either. Hell, I've taken LOTS of animals, hunting in my life. Yep, even predators. Ended their "wild and free" stock killing lives. If you've ever seen the end results of a thrill killing .mountain lions old lust, it can change your outlook. The big cats have a propensity toward such actions. I.lressive as they are, all purty n such, they are exceptionally nasty animals.
Picture good ol' Fluffy, the house cat, torturing a mouse to death, then multiply the size factor , by a sizable number, and the body count by a solid factor of 10, you've got a big cat in a stock pen. It good, old fashioned ugly and flat gruesome. yes, yea, Cecil ever did any such things, (that we know of) , however, in terms of killing, just for giggles, the big cats are rivaled only by humans.
Ever been up close, on a big cat? They stink. There is a smell of death on them. Its quite noticeable. Especially when they've been bathing in the blood and guts of a pen full of sheep or cattle or horses. So, the image folks have, of Cecil , as some big, loveable, purring cat, that wants to get in your lap, needs rethunk. Its this imagery that's leading to all the emotionalism, as if this dentist just killed the aforementioned Fluffy. This, in turn, makes the guys family fair game for the lunch mob, too, which I just CAN'T countenance. This whole thing reminds me to much of seeing that pen, after the cat had its way. Except its people, feeling justified and on a mission.
(Sigh) So, she can now be demonized, as well. Trophy hunting ain't my bag. Never did see any sense in it. However, I don't see any sense in going after someone's family because you think they are an Elmer Fudd, either. Hell, I've taken LOTS of animals, hunting in my life. Yep, even predators. Ended their "wild and free" stock killing lives. If you've ever seen the end results of a thrill killing .mountain lions old lust, it can change your outlook. The big cats have a propensity toward such actions. I.lressive as they are, all purty n such, they are exceptionally nasty animals.
Picture good ol' Fluffy, the house cat, torturing a mouse to death, then multiply the size factor , by a sizable number, and the body count by a solid factor of 10, you've got a big cat in a stock pen. It good, old fashioned ugly and flat gruesome. yes, yea, Cecil ever did any such things, (that we know of) , however, in terms of killing, just for giggles, the big cats are rivaled only by humans.
Ever been up close, on a big cat? They stink. There is a smell of death on them. Its quite noticeable. Especially when they've been bathing in the blood and guts of a pen full of sheep or cattle or horses. So, the image folks have, of Cecil , as some big, loveable, purring cat, that wants to get in your lap, needs rethunk. Its this imagery that's leading to all the emotionalism, as if this dentist just killed the aforementioned Fluffy. This, in turn, makes the guys family fair game for the lunch mob, too, which I just CAN'T countenance. This whole thing reminds me to much of seeing that pen, after the cat had its way. Except its people, feeling justified and on a mission.
I couldn't care less if Cecil smelled bad. He was collared since 1999, was extremely friendly, and a tourist attraction. He was living his life on protected ground. Palmer and company lured him away from the protected area and the dentist wounded him with an arrow. 40 hours later they located the animal, still alive and suffering. Does anyone actually believe that they relentlessly tracked that animal for 40 hours? Reports are that the "hunters" returned to camp, and continued their search later, at their convenience. Despicable.
And the pictures of Dr. Palmer grinning over the lion's dead body in no way substantiate his claim that he was "devastated" by the knowledge the lion was collared. In fact, there is no evidence of the collar in the pictures - why? Because it was removed and attempts were made to destroy it. Now we learn that killing this magnificent creature was not enough to satisfy his blood lust. He wanted to shoot an elephant after killing Cecil, but couldn't locate one big enough. If that doesn't turn your stomach, I don't know what does. The fact that he is being castigated for his actions doesn't bother me one bit.
There is just so much about this situation that is abhorrent to the general public. The guy deserves every bit of public shaming he is getting, and much more.
And the pictures of Dr. Palmer grinning over the lion's dead body...
...are a different lion from a hunt years ago.
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