Should Big Game Hunting Be Allowed?

     As we all should know, the death of Cecil the lion flared controversy around the world. Cecil was a male, 13-year-old Southwest African lion who primarily lived in the Hwange National Park in Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe. He and his brother were major attractions at the park.

This is Cecil. Isn't he beautiful?!

     The man wanted for killing Cecil is Walter Palmer, a Minnesota dentist. Palmer has not been seen publicly since this news went viral. Palmer says, "everything about this trip was legal and properly handled and conducted."

     Ian Seski, an oncologist from Pittsburgh, also killed a lion illegally during a hunting trip back in April of this year. Not only did Seski illegally kill a lion,  he has photos of himself standing next to animals he's killed, including a poor elephant. (Many of you know that I have an obsession with elephants, if you didn't know that, go back and read my post: My Strange Obsession! )
     This past weekend,  a tribute to Cecil was projected onto the Empire State Building in New York.

   Last Sunday, it was confirmed that Jericho, Cecil's brother, being shot and killed where false. Field researcher Brent Stapelkamp told the Today Show "Things are going to be hard for him...... but he's a mature lion, he's 11 years old himself...". It will be so hard for Jericho because he has spent his whole life with Cecil. Two other hunters from Idaho are also drawing online backlash online after posting photos of many animals they killed legally.
 

     My Opinion: Yes! Hunting any wild animal in a state park should be illegal. I read defenses written by hunters that say things like: "Leave them alone! Its their job, that's how they make money." Well, actually, Cecil was killed by a working dentist, so we can assume he was hunting recreationally rather than professionally. So yes, though turning in the skin of this lion may have given him a couple thousand bucks, hes has a normal job! Set hours, steady income. Now, I don't have a problem with eating beef and chicken because I don't see the farmers going out and killing animals that may be  endangered. But killing wild animals benefits no one in the long run.
      The photo of the slaughtered Cecil is really sad. I'm not going to include it here, but a Google search will show you how tragic it is, as well as the inexcusably happy look on the hunters face. Really, how could you not feel guilty for doing such a thing?

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 By the way, I'm sorry I haven't been posting a lot recently. I haven't had any ideas or anything big and interesting that I would have liked to share. I'm going to be taking a trip to New York to visit my cousin and I most likely will have something  fun to write about because she is a great person and maybe she can teach me some tricks that are up her sleeves to writing.

                          I hope you guys enjoyed this piece. I know I enjoyed writing it!
I always read my comments, so if you would like to read about anything specific let me know.

                                                               Thanks for reading!         
                                                                     Jean-Paul