With the initial media-fueled overreaction to the possibly illegal killing of a lion in Zimbabwe beginning to ebb, some press outlets are beginning to publish the truth about lawful African big-game hunting.
On Thursday, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ran a story with the headline “Many Big-Game Hunters Are Also Big-Time Conservationists,” which detailed an important point overlooked by nearly everyone—the collaring and study of lions in Hwange National Park where “Cecil” lived is being funded by big-game hunters.
“The University of Oxford study that followed Cecil and other collared lions was funded by hunting organizations to help quantify and prevent illegal hunts,” the Post-Gazette report said. “Lucrative organized poaching for exotic animal parts is responsible for most of the illegal killing of animals.” While poaching is reprehensible, blaming law-abiding hunters for illegal killing of animals is equally wrong. It’s good to see some media outlets are starting to get it.
