#Cecil the Lion—one more time

 Probably everyone who watches TV knows about ‘Cecil, the Lion’ killed by Minnesota dentist Walter Palmer. Many people got upset about it and demanded the head of this 'terrible Killer of Lions'. The whole frenzy was, of course, fuelled by the media and blown out of proportion.

Even I got on the ‘bandwagon’ on my blog condemning the ‘Lion killer’.

I’ve stated that I’m not a ‘Trophy Hunter’, which is not entirely correct. I’ve hunted and shot plenty of geese, ducks, game birds, and deer in my lifetime; mainly for the meat but also for the thrill of the hunt. I also admit that every time I shot a buck I was hoping for a monster-buck—a trophy, if you will. To say otherwise would make me a hypocrite.

However, there is more to hunting than just going out and shoot something. It is all about enjoying the outdoors. There is nothing better and soothing to the soul than walking down a bush trail early in the morning, inhaling the fresh, crisp air, and smelling the different scents of the forest, of hearing the birds twittering in the trees, and listening to the honking of a flock of geese flying south.

I’ve walked through the forest after sundown in the eerie light of a full moon and had goose bumps running down my spine when I heard the barking and howling of the coyotes in the distance and nearby.

What can compare with the thrill of having a chickadee land in front of me or sit on my boot while I’m sitting quietly in my deer-stand?  Or watching a flock of crows circling above me waiting for me to shoot a deer so they can clean up after I’m done dressing the animal?

But let’s get back to Cecil, the Lion. The public outcry over his killing has had negative repercussions. Major airlines refuse to transport big game now. Many big-game-hunters have cancelled their hunts. The unfortunate truth is that the wildlife conservancies across Africa depend on the revenue created by these hunts and the ban on trophy hunting may also spell the end of conservation in some of these countries.

So in the end, the very animals the animal-lovers and anti-hunters want to protect will be left without protection. Sounds strange but sadly it is fact.

Humans have hunted for food and sports since beginning of time. We are predators and omnivores, which means we eat vegetables and meat. Wild meat is healthier than meat from domestic animals, just like wild salmon are better than farm-raised salmon. There are no hormones, no antibiotics, and no unhealthy chemicals in the meat.

There are many economic benefits resulting from the sport of hunting and fishing, starting with the money generated just from the licenses sold. Anglers and hunters buy clothing, hunting and fishing gear, food, processing equipment and a score of other items. The list is long.

Then there are the outfitters that organize hunt and fishing trips, the hotels, the butchers and many others who benefit. Hunting and fishing create jobs and are good for everyone.

Most animals are a renewable resource, but the animals and their habitat need to be protected; the animals from overhunting and overfishing by regulations and the habitat needs to be protected from being destroyed. None of that would happen were it not for hunters and anglers. They provide the money needed for that to happen.

Unfortunately, in Canada we have the indigenous population and now the Métis who are allowed to hunt and fish anytime with hardly any limits. There is no control. And they don’t have to buy licenses, which means they do nothing for the animals and for the habitat. I don’t mean this as a racial slur, because those are the facts. We will never be able to completely control hunting and fishing unless everyone follows the regulations. But that is another subject—a delicate one at that.

Anti-hunters don’t seem to see the whole picture. All they see are the cute animal babies. Fifty years ago we didn’t see many Canada geese out in the field, pretty much none in Winnipeg; now they are on the verge of becoming a nuisance and they are breeding at an alarming rate. They are almost a menace on the streets and on the parking lots. Farmers hate them because they destroy their crops.

Yet people are upset when Manitoba Conversation, a government agency, removed a thousand eggs from nests to halt the increase of the goose population in certain areas of the city.

One ignorant person went as far as calling the President of the Manitoba Wildlife Federation (a private organisation of hunters and anglers) on his cell-phone and accused him of being a ‘murderer’ who should be treated like the abortionist Dr. Morgentaler. Whatever that caller meant by that.

 Something like that is ignorance and stupidity in its purest form. People should get their facts straight before they make accusations and assumptions. MWF had nothing at all to do with the culling of the goose eggs.

I have to admit, the killing of Cecil, the Lion isn’t quite as simple as it seems at first. There is much more involved here and I am not quite as eager now to condemn Trophy-hunting. I still don’t condone it. I don’t believe in hunting and shooting magnificent animals like Elephants, Rhinos, Giraffes, big cats and other rare animals, some of them on the endangered list, but that is my opinion. I won't dictate what others do.

By the way, I didn’t get my deer this year, but we had a good time anyway. The weather was nice and we even got a little snow the last day. The fact that we spent hours trying to get out of the mud we got stuck in because of the warm weather didn’t dampen our spirits; maybe just a little (^_^) . There is always next year and something to look forward to.

Enjoy the rest of the Black Friday weekend and Cyber Monday. Hope you’ll find some bargains.