" We cannot have peace among men whose hearts delight in killing
any living creature. By every act that glorifies or even tolerates
in killing we set back the progress of humanity."
-- Rachel Carson
Everyone has heard the expression "like shooting fish in a barrel." It's used humorously when a task seems to be almost too easy. Have you ever thought about when that expression becomes truth? Canned hunting is a growing business in Africa that provides an easy way for trophy-hunters to slaughter hundreds of animals every year.
Most people don't know about this practice, myself included. Upon researching further into it, my heart was broken for the terrible acts that are committed against some of the most docile creatures. Canned hunting is much like farming, but with exotic animals. They are raised on a large ranch where trophy and big game hunters go. These hunters will pay money to go and shoot the animal of their choice with a weapon of their choice.
A certain African canned hunting site lists the prices of different animals for 2015. The rarer the animal, the higher priced it is. While digging around on other sites, I've found that 8 of the animals listed on their site are on the endangered list. Elephants, crocodiles, hippopotamuses, and lions are the most hunted, yet they are all on the endangered species list.
Most people don't know about this practice, myself included. Upon researching further into it, my heart was broken for the terrible acts that are committed against some of the most docile creatures. Canned hunting is much like farming, but with exotic animals. They are raised on a large ranch where trophy and big game hunters go. These hunters will pay money to go and shoot the animal of their choice with a weapon of their choice.
A certain African canned hunting site lists the prices of different animals for 2015. The rarer the animal, the higher priced it is. While digging around on other sites, I've found that 8 of the animals listed on their site are on the endangered list. Elephants, crocodiles, hippopotamuses, and lions are the most hunted, yet they are all on the endangered species list.
Lions are the animal that most hunters look for. The ranches out in Africa have a certain routine to keep population up for rich trophy hunters. Their method involves separating the lion cubs from their mother's at birth. Most ranchers will tell people they do this because the mother had no milk to supply the cubs, though this is never the case. The separation of cubs is so that the mother lion will become fertile again in a quicker period of time. Some lionesses will have 5 liters of cubs in the span of 2 years.
The saddest part of all of this information is that the practice is still legal. Even in the US there are states that allow these hunts to continue. An example would be, Matthew McConaughey's canned hunting ranch in Mertzon, Texas. This is a ranch of canned deer hunting, and though McConaughey has not been an owner of the ranch since 2011, it is still running today.
Many people and organizations are against this practice, but the hunters think that they are doing everyone a service. In an interview by Marta Ariza with a professional game hunter, he explains their viewpoint. He says that without hunters, the population of these animals would grow to a point where they would be damaging the vegetation. The hunter also said that canned hunting is such a large industry that without it there would be hundreds of jobs lost in Africa.
Many people and organizations are against this practice, but the hunters think that they are doing everyone a service. In an interview by Marta Ariza with a professional game hunter, he explains their viewpoint. He says that without hunters, the population of these animals would grow to a point where they would be damaging the vegetation. The hunter also said that canned hunting is such a large industry that without it there would be hundreds of jobs lost in Africa.
Canned hunting is a way that people make their livelihood, but at what cost? If the price of wealth is the head of an endangered animal, is it worth it? As a lover of both nature and wild animals, I would hope that there could be a better solution to preserving vegetation and the people's economic status. Maybe instead of just having hope, though, we should go out and change the world that we live in.
The triumphant smiles are hard to understand. How is killing an animal confined by
fences on four sides, something to feel proud about? How is killing an animal fun?
fences on four sides, something to feel proud about? How is killing an animal fun?
Sources:
http://vimeo.com/79117970
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/jun/03/canned-hunting-lions-bred-slaughter
http://www.huntinglegends.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Hunting_Legends_Pricelist_2015.pdf
http://www.earthsendangered.com/list.asp#G
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/mcconaughey-crosshairs-canned-hunts-kin-ranch-article-1.2103609
http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/captive_hunts/facts/captive_hunt_fact_sheet.html
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